


It Had to Be You

by coco_zee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, obikin is the endgame, they date other people but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:54:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23534152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coco_zee/pseuds/coco_zee
Summary: Taking place over a long decade of debates and arguments on the question of whether two people who find each other attractive can just be friends, mechanical engineer, Anakin Skywalker, and Colombia professor, Obi-Wan Kenobi still haven’t found the answer. Against the backdrop of a strictly platonic friendship peppered with intense love/hate moments, Anakin and Obi-Wan stubbornly refuse to accept that they are a perfect match. Now, after all this time, they may be forced to confront their complex feelings for each other. Will the best friends stop denying the magnetism that prevailed ever since Skywalker met Kenobi?aka a modern, self-indulgent when harry met sally AU
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 53
Kudos: 273





	1. 10 Years Ago

**Author's Note:**

> this has been floating around in my head for a while so i decided to take a stab at it. it's a WIP and i'm unsure how long it will be/how often i'll update, so you're welcome to come along for the ride or wait until its done!
> 
> i do include some dialogue from the movie, but i changed a lot of it to fit so that the boys weren't too OOC. 
> 
> comments, corrections, and suggestions are much appreciated.
> 
> enjoy the fluff!
> 
> -coco

Obi-Wan drove through the campus of University of Chicago, taking in the sights and sounds of his home for the past five years before he left it for good. It was a quintessential college campus, with quiet tree lined streets and historic brick buildings. Obi-Wan had always felt right at home, he thrived in academia. It was why he got his pHD and was going on to teach at a university. Although many thought he didn’t look a day over twenty, he was twenty-six, pushing twenty-seven. Maybe he should grow a beard so his students would take him seriously, he mused. He ran a hand through his short ginger hair in frustration as another too bold pedestrian crossed right in front of his car. Although he knows New York traffic will not be any better, he is looking forward to spending less time driving and more time walking and taking the subway. 

He was also looking forward to putting Chicago in the rearview mirror. Although he had many fond memories, most of them had been tainted with sadness after he lost Siri. It wasn’t that Obi-Wan thought they were soul mates, or that they would last forever, but she had been such an important part of his life for over three years and her sudden death two years ago had left him reeling. There was not much left for him here, and he was hoping that in a city like New York, it would be easy for him to set down roots and find a community.

Obi-Wan turned onto the street that was the agreed upon meeting place between him and his friend Aayla. They had known each other casually since undergrad, making time every so often to grab coffee and catch up on each other's lives. When Aayla had asked him if it was okay if her boyfriend Anakin drove with Obi-Wan to New York, he was quick to accept, having no love for driving, and an eighteen hour trek alone was a daunting task. He didn’t know much about Anakin, except that him and Aayla had been together for about a year, and that he had a habit of upsetting Aayla with picking arguments and sardonic comments.

Obi-Wan pulled up to the curb and was greeted with the sight of a couple who appeared to be attempting to eat each-others faces. How uncivilized. It was then that Obi-Wan recognized Aayla from her long brown hair that reached her waist, and her well endowed figure. She was wearing a strappy blue sundress that was currently being wrinkled under the hands of her lover. The man in question, which he assumed was Anakin, was very tall with broad shoulders and a trim waist. He had golden blonde curls pulled into a man bun, a worn leather jacket, and equally worn jeans and combat boots. Finally, the pair broke apart.

“I love you.” Aayla croons.

“I love you.” Anakin gives her bedroom eyes

They return to kissing.

Having enough of their antics Obi-Wan clears his throat. They either don’t hear him or they choose to ignore him. Obi-Wan tries again. Nothing. Deciding to put his manners aside and sending a silent apology to his strict Scottish mother, he leans on the horn just a tap. The two lovers jump apart with shy smiles. Obi-Wan puts on his most charming smile and waves. Aayla waves back and escorts Anakin to the car.

“Hey Obi! Obi-Wan, this is Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Obi-Wan reaches his hand out the window and offers it to Anakin who shakes it.

“Nice to meet you, you want me to drive first shift?” Anakin offers.

“That won’t be necessary, I’m already here.” He unlocks the back door for Anakin, who appears to have his whole life stowed in a backpack and a duffle bag. Anakin sets down his belongings and then turns back to Aayla.

“Call me.” Aayla murmurs, wrapping her arms back around her companion.

“I’ll call as soon as I get there.”

“Call me from the road.” 

“I’ll call before that.” They share a look. 

“I love you.” Aayla sighs.

“I love you.” They return to their shameless canoodling. Obi-Wan tries very hard not to roll his eyes. 

Finally, Anakin climbs into the front seat. Now that Obi-Wan is up close and personal with the man he is suddenly altogether too aware of what Aayla must see in him. His eyes are a shocking blue, he has tan skin, a strong jaw and full pouty lips. Obi-Wan stops himself. He clears his throat.“All set?”

“Ready when you are.” Anakin sends him a cocky grin before turning to wave goodbye to Aayla. Obi-Wan tries to ignore the fluttering in his chest as he pulls into traffic.

\------------

It takes approximately two minutes of driving before Anakin is reaching into the back seat rummaging through his belongings. Obi-Wan tries very hard to focus on the road instead of focusing on Anakin’s backside in his rearview mirror. He hears Anakin let out a small cry of victory as he brandishes a bag of Doritos. Anakin settles back into his seat and tears into the bag. 

“So I have this all figured out,” Obi-Wan begins, trying to talk over the sound of Anakin’s loud crunching. “It’s an 18 hour drive, which breaks down to 6 shifts of 3 hours each. Or we could break it down by mileage if you prefer.”

“3 hours each sounds fine to me. Want some?” He offers the bag of chips to Obi-Wan.

“No thank you. I’ve never been one for over processed snacks. Especially the ones that get fake cheese everywhere.” He thinks he sees Anakin roll his eyes, but chooses to ignore it. There was nothing wrong with wanting to eat healthy. They settle into silence. He watches Anakin suck the cheese dust off his fingers and can’t help but be a little captivated by the action, before he remembers himself and that captivation turns into disgust. He holds out hand sanitizer to Anakin and he knows he saw him roll his eyes this time. This was going to be a long trip.

“So,” Anakin breaks the silence. “Why don’t you tell me the story of your life.”

“Pardon?”

“We’ve got 18 hours to kill before we get to New York.”

Obi-Wan chuckles. “I’m afraid the story of my life isn’t even going to get us out of Chicago. I just got my phD in Classics and now I’m going to New York to teach at Colombia.” 

“Classics, what is that, like classical music? Or like classic books?”

Obi-Wan sighs, having been asked this question one too many times. “No, like Greek and Roman studies.”

“Oh, like Hercules! I love that movie.” Obi-Wan does his own eye roll this time.

“So what about you, Anakin? What’s your life story?”

“I can’t say I have much of one yet, I grew up poor, worked my way through college, and the only notable things that have happened to me have been bad. That’s why I’m going to New York.”

“So something good can happen to you.” Obi-Wan clarifies. 

“Exactly, I’m going to be a mechanical engineer. But beyond that I’m terrified that nothing good will happen to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Suppose nothing happens to me. What if I live my whole life and nothing happens and I never meet anyone and I never become anything and finally I die one of those New York deaths where nobody even notices for two weeks until the smell drifts into the hallway.” Obi-Wan shoots Anakin a disbelieving look and wonders again who he’s stuck in this car with.

“What about Aayla? You’ve already met someone.”

“Aayla doesn’t count, I know that’s not going to work long distance.” Obi-Wan is now annoyed that all the PDA he had just witnessed was for naught.

“She mentioned you had a dark side.”

“That’s what drew her to me.” Anakin shoots Obi-Wan another one of his shit eating grins.

“Your dark side. Really.”

“Yeah, don’t you have a dark side? No. Don’t take this the wrong way but you seem like the type whose parents are both alive and you grew up in the comfortable upper middle class of America.”

“You’re not wrong, but I don’t see what that has to do with having a dark side.” Obi-Wan scoffs.

“It’s hard to have a dark side when you’ve had everything handed to you on a silver platter.” Anakin leans back, with a gesture that says ‘I rest my case’. 

Obi-Wan is not quick to anger, but Anakin seems to know how to get under his skin. “You don’t know the first thing about me.” He bites out.

Anakin, to his credit, seems a little taken aback by Obi-Wan’s anger, but he presses forward. “Oh yeah? I bet you’ve lived this perfect life, nothing bad has ever happened to you. Your parents probably put you through college, you got perfect grades and you have a perfect girlfriend. Don’t be offended by not having a dark side Obi-Wan. Maybe it means I know more about life than you do, but I didn’t choose it. Bad things have just happened to me. You’ve probably never lost anything.”

Obi-Wan does not open up easily, he rarely shares his feelings with his closest friends let alone someone he just met. Yet before he can stop himself he speaks through gritted teeth, “My girlfriend died in a car crash two years ago.” The tension in the car is suffocating and Obi-Wan watches all of the color leave Anakin’s face.

“Obi-Wan… I- I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me, people have told me I like arguing for the sake of arguing and I think I just got carried away.” All of Anakin’s previous arrogance is gone and replaced with someone who looks so young and earnest , that Obi-Wan finds himself wanting to comfort him .

Obi-Wan waves him off. “It’s fine. It happened two years ago, I’ve been through counseling for it. You wouldn’t be the first person to stick their foot in their mouth about it and you certainly won’t be the last. Let this be a lesson that you don’t know someone’s story.” They fall back into silence. 

“My mom died when I was 19, she had this boyfriend, Watto ,” Anakin’s gaze darkens, “I tried so hard to get her out of there, I was going to school to support her. I was working two jobs, and going to school full time. I had almost saved up enough to get us our own place. But I wasn’t fast enough. One day, it just got so bad that he shot her. I didn’t get her out soon enough.” Any previous tension and anger Obi-Wan was feeling evaporated. He finds Anakin’s hand and he gives it a brief squeeze.

“There’s no way of knowing that even after you got her out, he wouldn’t have found her and killed her. There’s nothing more you could have done. Try not to beat yourself up about it.” They share a small smile before returning to their thoughts. 

\------------

Anakin is absolutely flying down the highway and Obi-Wan is using all of his power to not cover his eyes like he’s watching a scene from a horror movie unfold. Although this is not Anakin’s first shift driving his car, Obi-Wan is no less accustomed to the man’s positively reckless driving. Anakin said that he loved to drive, so he did two of his shifts back to back and Obi-Wan isn’t sure how he can still have a license with the kind of stunts he pulls. 

“I’m just saying that it really doesn’t make sense that given the choice between being a freaking god and some woman, he chooses the woman! He could be on Mount Olympus having all kinds of crazy sex with other gods and he chooses to stay with a mortal woman who he’s known for like what, a month?” Anakin is surprisingly heated about the movie Hercules and Obi-Wan can’t help to find it a little bit endearing. He stops feeling that when Anakin almost misses their exit because of his ranting and flies through the white lines, almost getting into an accident with another driver. Obi-Wan waves apologetically at the car in question before responding to Anakin.

“Once again, Hercules is not an accurate--For goodness sake slow down Anakin --depiction of the actual myth of Hercules, but I give up on that argument. There is more--It says the diner is up here on the right--there is more to life than sex, Anakin. Hercules was in love with Meg and it didn’t matter what he sacrificed to be with her because love was worth it.” They pull up in front of a small diner that Obi-Wan had found on the GPS. It might not have been his first choice in normal circumstances, but when one is travelling rules can be a little different. Obi-Wan climbed out of the car and silently thanked the powers that be for surviving Anakin’s driving.

“Oh I understand now.” Anakin smirks while holding the diner door open for Obi-Wan. 

“What?” Obi-Wan walks into the diner and finds that it is surprisingly well kept. There’s a selection of baked goods to the right, and the smell of coffee and waffles fills his nose. There are a few other patrons in the diner besides himself and Anakin, that seem to be a mix of locals and other travelers.

“Nothing.” Anakin gestures to the sign that says Please, seat yourself and starts walking to an open booth.

“What?” Obi-Wan asks, a little sharper this time.

Anakin seems to be choosing his next words very carefully as Obi-Wan slides into the booth across from him.

“Obviously you haven’t had great sex yet.”

“ Excuse me ?” Obi-Wan blanches and looks around to see if anyone had heard Anakin, he caught an old woman sending them a weird look and turned back around to give Anakin his exasperated attention.

“You heard me.” Anakin picks up his menu and is obviously shameless about his claim.

“It just so happens that I have had plenty of great sex.” Obi-Wan sniffs, mirrors Anakin and picks up his own menu, although he’s not paying much attention to it.

“With whom?” Anakin inquires.

“What?” The question catches Obi-Wan off guard, why on earth would Anakin want to know who ?

“Who did you have this great sex with?” There is a challenge in Anakin’s eyes when he says this and Obi-Wan does not back down from a challenge. So he decides to play along with Anakin’s game.

Obi-Wan thought about it. “A man by the name of Yoda. Best sex of my life.”

“Yoda-what Yoda ? No. I’m sorry you did not have the best sex of your life with Yoda .” Anakin looks outraged, like the name somehow offends him.

“That’s a rather obtuse assumption.” Obi-Wan scoffs. He was once again reminded of how arrogant his traveling companion was.

“Listen. A ‘Yoda’ can do your taxes. If you need a root canal, he’s your man, but if you need anything else drilled,” Anakin stops to chuckle at his own humor, “Yoda is not your guy. I mean think about it ‘Harder Yoda, Give it to me Yoda, Dick me down Yoda’ It doesn’t work.” Obi-Wan is granted a reprieve from Anakin’s ranting by the waitress approaching their table and asking for their orders.

“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a milkshake, please.” Anakin hands her back the menu with a devilish grin. Damn him. The waitress turns to Obi-Wan.

“I’ll have black tea with milk on the side, and two poached eggs with whole wheat toast” The waitress walks away and Anakin is staring at him. “Can I help you?”

“Who drinks their tea with milk ?”

“I’ll have you know that it is very common in the United Kingdom, as it is here, to have milk with tea, you uncultured swine.” Anakin colors. Obi-Wan smiles triumphantly. The waitress brings their beverages over and Obi-Wan sets to mixing his tea. Anakin watches him and scrunches his nose.

“So how many people have you slept with?” Obi-Wan nearly spits out his tea at Anakin’s question, but he doesn’t know why he should be surprised at this point.

“Anakin, hasn’t anyone ever taught you of something called tact? Or I don’t know, boundaries ?”

Anakin chuckles and waves his hand dismissively, “Where’s the fun in that? Plus your reactions are too much fun. So, how many?” Anakin leans in and drinks his milkshake while he waits for his response. He looks absolutely obscene . Obi-Wan looks up and away and pretends to think about his number.

“Four.” He crosses his arms and dares Anakin to say something.

“You’ve been with four people and you’re telling me based on that you know what great sex is?” Anakin smirks in that arrogant way of his. 

Obi-Wan scoffs, “How many have you, then?”

Anakin shrugs, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Obi-Wan cannot imagine being so casual about sex that you forget how many people you’ve done it with.

“I don’t know.” Anakin seems a little defensive this time.

“Is it between zero and three, four and ten, or ten and a hundred?”

“Ten and a hundred.”

“Is it closer to ten or closer to a hundred?”

Anakin screws his face up like he really needs to think about this. Obi-Wan is alarmed for a moment before Anakin chuckles, “Ten.”

“Thank the gods.” The waitress brings their food, and they happily tuck into their meal.

\------------

After they finish eating, Obi-Wan is calculating each of their shares of the bill when he notices Anakin is no longer playing on his phone and is now staring at him.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” He starts brushing his hand over his mouth as a precaution.

“You’re just a very attractive person.” Anakin is smiling at him through his lashes and Obi-Wan can feel his heart stutter.

“Oh, um, well thank you.” He tries to keep his face as straight as possible to not give away how fast his heart is beating.

“Aayla never said you were so attractive.” And just like that Obi-Wan is snapped out of the moment. Right. Aayla. Anakin’s girlfriend.

“Maybe she doesn’t think I’m attractive.” Obi-Wan folds his arms and looks at Anakin, challenging.

“She would have to be blind. Empirically you are attractive.” Anakin states this as fact, as casually as saying grass is green. Okay , Obi-Wan thinks, that’s enough of that.

“Anakin, Aayla is my friend.” He puts his money on the table and starts walking to the door. Anakin also drops money and starts following him like a stray dog after a piece of meat.

“So?” Anakin asks defensively.

“So? You’re dating her!” Obi-Wan bites back, exasperated.

“So?” The younger man is flat out pouting . Obi-Wan feels as though he is arguing with a child instead of a twenty-two year old man. 

“So you’re coming on to me!” Obi-Wan whips around to glare at him and puts his hands on his hips. 

“No I wasn’t! Can’t one person call another person attractive without it being a come on?” Anakin shouts, indignant. Obi-Wan shoots him a withering look, turns on his heel and exits the diner. Anakin catches up to him at the car.

“Okay let’s just say for the sake of the argument it was a come on. What do you want me to do? Take it back? I take it back!” Anakin throws his hands up in surrender.

“You can’t just take it back, it’s already out there!” It was true, Obi-Wan now in fact could not stop thinking about it.

“Oh fuck, what are we gonna do now? Call the cops? It’s already out there!” Anakin mocks concern and then shakes his head at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan pinches the bridge of his nose. “Just let it lie.” He unlocks the door and gets in the car. Anakin climbs in the passenger door grumbling, “Right let it lie, let it lie. That’s my policy. Let it lie.” They’re silent for a moment, which Obi-Wan has learned, won’t last for long. Right on cue, Anakin blurts “So you want to spend the night in a motel? See what I did there? I didn’t let it lie.” Obi-Wan splutters.

“Anakin—“

“I said I would and then I didn’t—“

“Anakin—“

“I went the other way—“

“An-a-kin” Obi-Wan annuciates each syllable of his name, demanding his attention.

“Yes?” Anakin asks innocently, as if he hadn’t been purposefully trying to get a rise out of the older man.

“We’re just going to be friends, okay?”

“Yeah. Great. Friends. Best thing.” Obi-Wan turns the car on and drives out of the parking lot, hoping that Anakin decides now would be a great time for another nap.

\------------

They drive in blissful silence for about 10 minutes before it is once again interrupted by Anakin.

“You realize, of course, that we can never be friends.” Once again Anakin says this too casually for the meaning behind it.

“Oh? And why is that?” Obi-Wan is curious to see where Anakin is going with this claim.

“What I’m saying--and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form--is that two people who find each other attractive can’t be friends. The sex part always gets in the way.” Obi-Wan looks at him, disbelieving.

“I hardly find that accurate, I have a number of attractive friends. There’s no sex involved.” The auburn haired man contends, perhaps a little more defensively than he means.

“No you don’t.” Anakin sing-songs.

“Yes I do.”

“No. You don’t.”

“Yes. I do.”

“You only think you do.” Anakin points at him emphatically. 

“You’re saying I’m somehow having sex with all these people without my knowledge?” In the back of his head, he is aware how ridiculous this argument is, but something about Skywalker brings out his competitive streak.

“No, I’m saying they all want to have sex with you.” Anakin throws him a wink.

“They do not.” Obi-Wan gapes incredulously at him, scandalized.

“They do too.”

“They do not .”

“Do too.” Anakin is grinning like a madman, he actually enjoys this verbal sparring.

“How do you know?”

“Because no one can be friends with someone they find attractive, you always end up wanting to have sex.” Obi-Wan couldn’t deny that he desperately wanted to pull this car over, climb into Anakin’s lap and kiss that smile off of his egotistical face, but that would negate his argument. Instead he merges onto the highway and thinks of his retort.

“What if they don’t want to have sex with you ?”

“Doesn’t matter. The sex thing is already out there, so the friendship is ultimately doomed, and that’s the end of the story.” Anakin kicks his legs up on the dash when he says this, convinced that he had the last word.

“Well I guess we’re not going to be friends, then.” Obi-Wan’s heart positively aches in a lonely sort of way when he says this. The younger man is playing some game on his phone, but looks up at Obi-Wan’s statement, something unreadable in his gaze. 

“I guess not.”

“It’s too bad, really. You were the only person I knew in New York.” Obi-Wan fixes his gaze on the road. He resolutely locks the box labeled “Complicated emotions for Anakin Skywalker” and shoves it into the back corner of his brain. 

\------------

The sun is just peeking across the horizon when they pull up in front of the Maine Monument, at the south-west edge of Central Park in Columbus circle. The golden statue glints in the hazy morning light. They agreed on this spot due to its proximity to Colombia, without being so far away that Anakin had to take multiple trains to Brooklyn. It’s early enough where there are only a few cars on the road, and they are able to pull over into a not-quite parking spot. Obi-Wan looks over at Anakin to find him still lightly snoring with his curls in disarray, his face pressed against the window, and a little bit of drool coming out of the side of his mouth. He takes a mental image, for posterity , and gently shakes Anakin awake. Anakin looks around blearily before cracking his neck and blinking sleepily at Obi-Wan. They both get out of the car and Obi-Wan helps Anakin unload his meager belongings from the back seat. They stand awkwardly a few feet away from each other, unsure of what to do next.

“Well, it was nice knowing you.” Anakin starts.

“Yeah. It was interesting.” Obi-Wan shuffles from one foot to the other.

“Yeah. Thanks for the ride.”

“You’re welcome.” Obi-Wan nods, Anakin mimics the gesture. It’s another awkward silence. What do you say to someone you spent a surprisingly emotional 18 hour car ride with? Obi-Wan offers his hand. Anakin grasps it with one of his large calloused ones and they shake. “Well, have a nice life.”

“Yeah, you too.” Anakin salutes him as he walks off. Obi-Wan watches him for a second, before shaking himself out of it. He climbs back in his car and goes off in search of his new apartment and, he adds, some high quality tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	2. 5 Years Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are both travelling for work when their paths cross again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends
> 
> welcome back to the fluff show, this chapter is a little short, but I plan on posting another one a bit later this week. thanks for all the support on the first chapter, I hope this one doesn’t disappoint.
> 
> —coco

Anakin absolutely hates airports. First off, he has to show his notification card for his prosthetic to the TSA agents which results in either a disbelieving look, a pitying look, or one time someone asking him to “do some cool shit with it”. Which brings him to his next point about why he hates airports: people are idiots. They mill around, looking for their gates, stopping in the middle of the hallway. There’s always children throwing temper tantrums, lines for overpriced coffee that are much too long, and somehow despite the strict security, couples locked in such desperate embraces you would think one of them was leaving for the goddamned war . 

He’s just finishing a text to Padme, ‘ at my gate, love you angel xx’, when he walks past one of said couples. He gets about five steps away, when it hits him I know that woman . He back pedals and tries to not openly gawk at them. It doesn’t work well. He’s probably a little closer than what’s socially acceptable, but he can’t quite see their faces right and he needs to figure out how he knows this woman .

They must notice him and break apart, turning to look at him. He is instantly struck by what an attractive couple they are. The man has a scholarly professor vibe, a couple inches shorter than him with an auburn mullet, that Anakin notes he somehow makes look stylish , clear blue eyes, and a ginger beard. Anakin can just tell that his smile could convince him to do anything . The woman is delicate, with sharp features, intelligent cold blue eyes, and hair so blonde it is almost white. Anakin recognizes her instantly.

“Satine! I thought it was you, Anakin Skywalker.” Recognition dawns on Satine’s face and she holds her hand out for him to shake.

“Anakin, how are you? How’s Padme?”

“I’m great, she’s great. Busy. You know politics. How are you?”

“Lovely, I’m great. I’m on my way down to DC for a meeting right now. Are you still doing engineering or whatever...?” She waves noncommittally to his prosthetic.

“Yeah, yeah. Not stuff like this anymore, more like cars, engines. Stuff like that.” They seem to have run out of things to talk about, and Anakin notices Mullet’s eyes are boring into his prosthetic. Rude. Actually, upon second glance Anakin thinks he might know him from somewhere too. But he’s having a harder time placing him. Satine seems to remember her companion and clears her throat.

“Where are my manners? Anakin, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin and I used to live in the same building.” Anakin waves awkwardly. Obi-Wan nods. Deciding he has overstayed his welcome, Anakin awkwardly makes his exit.

“Well, great to see you. See you around.” He walks to where his plane is now boarding and shakes his head. What are the odds of running into Satine, and where does he know Obi-Wan from?

\-----

Obi-Wan lets out a sigh of relief and turns to Satine. “Thank God he couldn’t place me. I drove from college to New York with him and it was the longest night of my life.” Seeing Anakin was in fact quite a shock to Obi-Wan. He looked, well, grown up. Gone was the man bun, replaced with shorter yet still untamed curls. And the prosthetic arm was certainly new. He spent half of their conversation racking his brain trying to remember if he had that five years ago.

“What happened?” Satine inquired politely, pulling him from his reverie.

“Well, he hit on me. But I said no because he was dating a friend of mine...Oh dear what was her name? I’m only 31 and I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the woman I was such good friends with that I wouldn’t hook up with her boyfriend…” Obi-Wan drifts off, furiously trying to remember this woman’s name. Amanda? Anita? Angela?

“So what happened, he hit on you and you said no…”

“Uhhh… I said we can just be friends, but then he said two people who find each other attractive can’t be friends.” He leans in to kiss Satine again, then pauses. “Do you think it’s true? Do you have friends you find attractive?”

Satine blushes, “No, but I’ll find some if you’re trying to prove a point.”

“Aayla Secura! That was her name. Goodness gracious.” He feels a weight lift off his shoulders.

“I’ll miss you. I love you.” Satine smiles up at him.

“You love me?” Obi-Wan feels like his heart might burst with joy.

“I do.”

“I love you.” Obi-Wan pulls her back into an embrace and he feels the happiest he’s been in a long time.

\-----

Anakin is restless in his seat. He’s never been good at sitting still for long periods at a time and he looks around the plane for people to watch. There’s a lady an aisle over that probably took way too much Xanax and is passed out on her neighbor. A kid a few seats back is kicking and screaming. A young couple engaged in a heated argument a few rows up. Then, Anakin’s eye catches on auburn hair one row ahead from him. How did he miss him? Now he just needs to stare at Obi-Wan Kenobi long enough so he can figure out exactly where he knows him from. He tries to be subtle about it but from the looks he’s getting from his neighboring passengers he is not succeeding. The flight attendant comes by and he hears Obi-Wan order tea with milk. Who puts milk in their tea? That’s when it hits him. His eyes widened. How could he forget? He leans forward, between the seats.

“The University of Chicago, right?”

“Yes.” Obi-Wan side-eyes him.

“Did you look this good at the University of Chicago?”

“No, I suppose not.” Obi-Wan huffs.

“Did we hook up?” He knows that they didn’t, but he wants to see Obi-Wan turn pink underneath his freckles. This seems to have gotten the attention of the man sitting next to Obi-Wan who looks bemused. 

Obi-Wan turns around and gapes at him “No, no. Jesus.” He turns to address the man next to him, “We drove from Chicago to New York together the day after graduation.” It’s all so clear to Anakin now, the fights, the tension, the diner, wanting Obi-Wan to shove his politeness and stuffiness aside and take him right there--

“Would you like to sit together?” The man next to Obi-Wan offers. Anakin enthusiastically accepts before Obi-Wan can object. Anakin plops down next to Obi-Wan and he knows he has a cocky grin on his face.

“You were a friend of….oh what was her name?” Anakin gets lost in thought. His memory is really not up to snuff today.

“Aayla’s. I can’t believe you can’t remember her name.” The red head’s stuffiness that Anakin remembers so clearly is still there in full force. 

“What do you mean? I can remember….Aayla, right? Aayla...Sentura.” Anakin supplies hopefully. 

“Secura.” The older man rewards him with an eye-roll.

“Secura, right. That’s what I said. Whatever happened to her?”

Obi-Wan glares at him, “I have no idea.”

“You have no idea? You were such a good friend of hers. We didn’t do it because you were such good friends.”

“You dated her.” Obi-Wan looks accusingly at him.

“Was it worth it? This sacrifice for a friend you haven’t even kept in touch with?” Anakin clutches a hand to his chest. This gets a low chuckle from Obi-Wan.

“Now Anakin, I know you may not believe this, but I never considered not sleeping with you a sacrifice.” Bastard. Anakin puts his hands up in surrender.

“You were going to be a professor, right? You were going to teach classical music.” Anakin can tell Obi-Wan is using his willpower to not pinch the bridge of his nose. Poor guy, Anakin knows his banter can be hard to keep up with.

“I am a professor, but I teach classics.” Obi-Wan corrects.

“ Right , like Hercules.” Anakin pauses. “And you’re with Satine, that’s great. You guys have been together, what--three weeks?”

Obi-Wan looks perturbed. “A month. How did you know?”

“You had that look about you. Plus coordinating your business trips, please. That’s why I never take anyone to the airport at the beginning of a relationship because eventually things break down and it’s all, why don’t you take me to the airport anymore, why don’t we coordinate our business trips, why dont you buy me flowers anymore?” 

“It’s extraordinary, Anakin. You look like a normal person but you’re actually the angel of death.” 

Anakin shrugs, not exactly put off by that observation. “Are you going to marry her?”

“We’ve only known each other a month. Besides, neither of us is looking to get married right now.” Obi-Wan declares firmly.

“I’m getting married.” Anakin blurts out. Obi-Wan fixes him with another one of those calculating stares.

“You are?”

“Yep.”

“ You are?”

“Yep.”

“Who is she?”

“Padme Amidala. She’s in politics. She’s keeping her name.” Anakin can’t help the love that seeps into his voice, talking about his angel. “What’s so funny about me getting married?”

“It’s just so...optimistic of you.” Obi-Wan shakes his head.

“You’d be amazed what falling madly in love can do for you.” Anakin smiles genuinely at him and to his surprise he finds Obi-Wan smiling back.

“That’s wonderful, Anakin. It’s nice to see you happy.”

“Besides, you just get to a certain point where you get tired of the whole life-of-a-single guy thing. You meet someone, you go on a date, maybe you hook up. But at the end of the day you’re still thinking, what’s their baggage? What’s the reason that they’re still single? And is it going to be something that I can learn to love or is it a deal breaker? And then maybe you go on a second date and you’re still just sitting there waiting for the other shoe to drop until it does and then you just have to do the whole thing over again.” Obi-Wan is gazing at him, a mixture of confusion and awe, and opens his mouth to reply but is interrupted by the pilot announcing their descent.

\------

They’re off the plane and heading towards baggage claim. Anakin is a little surprised, but not complaining, that Obi-Wan is still at his side allowing him to chatter away. They step into one of those moving sidewalk things and Anakin hides childlike excitement for them. He’s not sure he’s ready to part ways with Obi-Wan yet and return to the real world and his business trip. 

He doesn’t want to ask Obi-Wan to go to dinner with him lest he think he’s flirting with him, but still he opens his mouth and asks “So are you staying over?” He internally cringes, that was way more of a come on then simply asking him to dinner. 

Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow at him, but replies “Yes.”

“Would you like to have dinner?” He tries to sound sauve and nonchalant about it, but he already knows Obi-Wan is going to take it the wrong way so he quickly adds, “You know. Just as friends.”

Obi-Wan sniffs, “I thought you said attractive people can’t be friends.”

Anakin frowns, “When did I say that?”

“On the ride to New York, five years ago.” They reach the end of one moving sidewalk and step on to another. Anakin tries to get a read on Obi-Wan. Does he want to have dinner or not? Maybe he should take back that thought. 

“I remember, yes that’s right they can’t be friends…” There’s gotta be some way he can save this. Think, Skywalker, think . “Unless… both of them are involved with other people,” G enius! “ then they can be friends. It’s an amendment to my earlier rule. If two people are in committed relationships then the pressure of possible involvement is lifted.” He glances at Obi-Wan, again trying to decipher what he was thinking, but his face is a mask. Why was he so good at shielding? 

Anakin thinks suddenly of Padme, of what she might think of him having dinner with this man, that he not so subtly harbors some attraction for and he back pedals. “Although that doesn’t work either. Because what happens when the person you’re involved with doesn’t understand why you need to be friends with the person you’re friends with, like it must mean something is missing from your relationship and you have to go outside to get it, and when you say no, no it’s not true, there’s nothing missing from our relationship, the person you’re involved with accuses you of being secretly attracted to the person you’re just friends with, which you probably are, let’s face it, who the hell are we kidding,” he blushes and takes a furtive glance at Obi-Wan before continuing with his rambling. “...which brings us back to the original rule before the amendment, which is that two attractive people can’t be friends, so where does that leave us?” Anakin is a little out of breath from his rant. They’ve reached the end of the sidewalks, made it to baggage claim and found their luggage all while he was rambling. 

Obi-Wan, for his part, looks amused. “Anakin—“ He begins.

“Yes?” Anakin feigns innocence. They’re at a crossroads, Obi-Wan’s next words will determine which way this day goes. 

“Goodbye, Anakin. Take care.” Obi-Wan holds out his hand. Anakin resists the urge to beg him not to leave. Instead, Anakin meets his hand and shakes it twice before letting go.

“Yes, alright. Goodbye Obi-Wan.” He stands there and watches Obi-Wan walk with his luggage clicking behind him. There is a voice in his head shouting What are you doing? Don’t leave it like that! 

Anakin calls out to him, “Obi-Wan?” Obi-Wan turns around with an inquisitive expression. Anakin smirks, “Have a nice life.” 

He watches Obi-Wan’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline, and then he smiles. Anakin realizes Obi-Wan has one of those smiles where you can see every single one of his teeth and his eyes sparkle . Obi-Wan mimics the salute Anakin gave him the first time they parted five years ago, turns around and walks out of Anakin’s life once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	3. 5 Years Later (aka Present Day)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go through some hard times, but they find unexpected company to get them through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again,
> 
> i forgot to mention that the title of this fic is not only based off of the frank sinatra song "it had to be you" (which is pretty much the theme of when harry met sally), but there's another song called "it had to be you" by motion city soundtrack. this song 100% is the obikin vibes im going for in this story. the links are below for your listening pleasure.
> 
> frank sinatra- https://youtu.be/BXmEJL1mnuU  
> motion city- https://youtu.be/xU1RJcfLx9Q
> 
> thanks for the continued love, i love seeing your kudos and comments! keep them coming :)
> 
> enjoy the chapter!
> 
> -coco

Obi-Wan knows he looks like a true New Yorker as he fast walks down the crowded sidewalk. Gone is the midwestern boy who was afraid to push people out of the way. Now, Obi-Wan knew how to expertly weave his way through throngs of people. He knows he’s running a bit behind schedule, after his eight AM lecture, a few students had stuck around to ask him questions on research, and upcoming exams. Now, it was nearing ten and he was supposed to meet Quinlan and Barriss for brunch at nine thirty. Not that he would be surprised if Quinlan was later than him. It’s a little hot for a fall day and he’s regretting wearing so many layers. A button down, sweater, and suit jacket may be comfortable in a lecture hall, but it did not go with hauling ass down a muggy New York sidewalk.

Relieved, he sees the brunch place up ahead, with his friends chatting amicably at a table outside. Quinlan wore his dreadlocks pulled up, he’s wearing a leather vest with a tank top that displays a rock band’s logo, that shows off his biceps and numerous arm tattoos. The jeans he wears are ripped in multiple places, and he’s topped off this ensemble with flip flops of all things. Barriss wears her long black hair pulled into a simple braid. A loose cotton maxi dress exposes the ivory skin on her shoulders to the sunlight. Barriss also has multiple tattoos around her arms, and a dark smattering of freckles across her nose.

“Sorry I’m late,” Obi-Wan greets as he takes his seat. He takes note that they already ordered him tea, but he’s much more interested in the water so cold it had condensation seeping outwards. He drinks the whole thing in one go.

“Slow down there, Professor Kenobi. What are you doing in full academic regalia in this heat anyway?” Quinlan laughs and pulls at the sleeve of the offending blazer.

“It appears I was too popular with my class today and I didn’t have time to change.” Obi-Wan shrugs out of his blazer, and then on second thought pulls off his sweater as well.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you without at least 2 layers since that beach trip we took two years ago.” Barriss laughs into her drink. 

“Barriss and I were just talking about setting up her Tinder profile, we’re stuck on a bio. She doesn’t understand why ‘34, artist, cat lover, gamer girl’ isn’t going to cut it.” Quinlan interjects.

“Why should I tell them something that I’m not? I’m just being honest.” Barriss sighs. 

“Quinlan, what do you know about dating profiles, you and Asajj have been married for what, four years?” Obi-Wan counters.

“Asajj and I sometimes like to branch out and...experiment if you catch my drift.” He winks. Obi-Wan and Barriss share a groan. 

“Honestly, you guys are just lucky you don’t have to do this anymore.” Barriss exhales dejectedly.

Obi-Wan runs a hand through his beard thoughtfully. Right. Well here’s his opportunity to tell them.

“Actually. Satine and I broke up.” Obi-Wan thinks he hears an audible crack from one of their necks as they whip their heads around to stare at him with disbelieving looks on their faces.

“What?” Barriss asks, stunned.

“When?” Quinlan demands. Their line of questioning is interrupted when the waitress comes over and to take their order, Obi-Wan orders a poached egg with sausage, Barriss orders a fruit parfait, and Quinlan orders something that sounds like “everything but the kitchen sink”. 

“Monday.” Obi-Wan takes a sip of his tea. This seems to upset them further.

“You waited three whole days to tell us?” Quinlan punches him on the shoulder.

“How have you been holding up?” Barriss asks, concern evident on her features.

“I’m fine. We’ve been growing apart for a while. She’s so focused on her career and I’m ready to start a family, and that’s not what she wanted. I’ve had a few days to process and really I feel okay.” Obi-Wan isn’t sure if he was trying to convince himself or his friends more. 

“Okay then you’re ready,” Quinlan cracks his knuckles “Time to set up your tinder.”

“No, no, absolutely not.” Obi-Wan protests.

“Grindr?” Barriss offers, winking.

“No.”

“Hinge?” Quinlan suggests.

“No.”

“Bumble.” Quinlan is starting to get frustrated with him.

“Quin, thank you for your concern, and you too Barriss, really I’m touched. But, I’m still in a mourning period. Once I’m ready to look for a rebound, you’ll be the first to know.” Obi-Wan squeezes both of their hands. He truly was thankful to have such a great support system.

“Well, if you change your mind, Asajj and I are always looking for a third.” Quinlan grins obscenely at him. Barriss howls with laughter. Obi-Wan rescinds his recent statement of being thankful for Quinlan fucking Vos.

\------

Anakin is sitting on his couch playing video games with his best friend Ahsoka. Black braids were pulled up in two buns on either side of her head. She was dressed casually with a maroon sweatshirt over her dark skin and leggings. Currently, she is kicking Anakin’s sorry ass in their ongoing competition of who can kill the most zombies. Which isn’t the point of the game, but due to their shared competitive nature, this quickly became the point of every game they played together. Ahsoka came over to lift his spirits, but Anakin isn’t sure anything could pull him out of this funk.

“So how--that’s 37 Skyguy I am roasting you--did this happen?” Although Ahsoka is intensely focused on the game, there is still a note of genuine concern in her voice.

“Friday, Padme comes home, and she says ‘I don’t know if I want to be married anymore.’ You know, like it’s the institution, like it’s nothing personal-- that’s 22--like it’s just something she’s thinking about in a kind of casual way. I’m calm. I say,” 

“38! Sorry, continue.”

“I say, why don’t we think about it, take some time, don’t rush into anything. Next day she says she’s thought about it, she wants a trial separation. She just wants to try it, she says, like this is supposed to cushion the blow. I mean, I got married so I could stop dating, so I don’t see where ‘we can still date’ is a big incentive since as far as I’m concerned the last thing you want to do is date your wife, who’s supposed to love you, which is what I’m saying to her when it crosses my mind maybe she doesn’t, so I say ‘Don’t you love me anymore?’ and you know what she says? ‘I don’t know if I ever truly loved you.’ She’s realized that she’s one hundred percent without a doubt a lesbian. And what we had was just an infatuation .” By the end of his story Anakin finds he is near tears again. Ahsoka pauses the game and turns to stare at him with wide eyes.

“Oh Anakin . That’s awful. That’s hard to come back from.” She has given him her full undivided attention, and Anakin finds he is actually grateful to have someone to finally talk to after days of sulking in the dark in his apartment.

“And then she says, she just found out that somebody at her office is going to South America, she can sublet his apartment. I can’t believe it, and the doorbell rings. I get to the door and the movers are there”

“It’s like something out of a movie.” Ahsoka is engrossed.

“ Exactly . Now I’m suspicious. And I say, ‘When did you call the movers?’ She won’t answer me. She’s just staring at the floor. So I look at the movers and I say, ‘When did she book you for this?’ and they’re standing there, three huge guys, right, one of them is wearing a t-shirt that says, ‘Don’t fuck with Mister Zero,’ and finally Padme comes clean. She called them a week ago. I say, ‘You’ve known this for a whole week and you didn’t tell me?’, she says ‘I didn’t want to ruin your birthday.’” Anakin puts his head in his hands and groans. Ahsoka pats him on the back and makes a sympathetic sound.

“...so you’re saying Mister Zero knew you were getting a divorce a week before you did?” This makes Anakin smile ruefully.

“Mister Zero knew. I haven’t even told you the bad part.”

Ahsoka shakes her head, “What could be worse than Mister Zero knowing?”

“It’s all a lie. Well, being a lesbian isn’t. She’s in love with some woman. She moved in with her. There was no guy subletting his apartment.” He leans back and collapses into the couch cushions, he knows he probably looks pathetic, but he can’t bring himself to care.

“How did you find out?”

“I followed her and stood outside the building.” Anakin runs a hand through his hair. Ahsoka is horrified.

“Anakin, that’s so humiliating.” Anakin groans again.

“Tell me about it. I knew it would happen. The whole time I knew even though we were happy, it was just an illusion and one day she’d kick the shit out of me.” Ahsoka stands and starts clearing away the trash he had accumulated over the past few days.

“You know, marriages don’t break up just because of infidelity. The infidelity is just a symptom that something else is wrong.” Anakin snorts.

“Yeah what’s wrong is I have a penis, and that symptom is fucking my wife.” Anakin hears Ahsoka let out a small laugh. At first he glares at her, but then he feels himself chuckle too. The next thing he knows they’re both doubled over, howling and clutching their sides.

Ahsoka finishes cleaning up and settles back down next to Anakin on the couch to resume their game, “At least you got the apartment.” She shrugs. Anakin gives her a look and then hits her in the face with a pillow.

\----

Obi-Wan and Barriss are in his favorite local bookshop. They’re perusing the history section, Obi-Wan is reading through various biographies while Barriss looks through different books on art history. Obi-Wan has always felt a certain sense of calm in small, quiet bookstores. The only sound being the turning of pages and slow footsteps. Plus, you can’t beat the smell of a new book. This was his church. He could spend hours, wandering around, completely engrossed in language and literature. His favorite memories were growing up in the UK and taking weekly trips to the bookstore with his grandmother as she attended a book club. He was left alone to his own devices, and this is how he fell in love with ancient civilization. He would pore over books about Greek and Roman archeology, mythology, lifestyles. He is pulled out of his nostalgia by Barriss nudging him in the ribs. She is pointedly staring at her book and talking out the side of her mouth.

“Someone is staring at you in Personal Growth.” Obi-Wan tries to very casually look up while he turns the page of his book. There, ten feet away from him, in all of his tall and brooding glory, is Anakin Skywalker. He shoves his nose back in his book.

“I know him. You’d like him. He’s married though.” Obi-Wan sets his book down and picks up another one, this time not paying attention to the title at all. He glances back up at Anakin, who is holding a book upside down, pretending to be engrossed.

“Who is he?” Barriss asks, openly staring at Anakin now.

“Anakin Skywalker. He’s a mechanical engineer.” Barriss raises her eyebrows, impressed.

“He’s cute.” Barriss hums, appreciatively.

“You think he’s cute?” If Obi-Wan’s voice is perhaps a little higher than normal, he steadfastly ignores it.

“How do you know he’s married?” Barriss counters.

“Because the last time I saw him he was getting married.” Anakin has now turned his book right side up and is blushing furiously. Obi-Wan hides his grin by ducking his head into the pages of his book.

“When was that?” Barriss seems to notice Obi-Wan’s smile, but blessedly doesn’t say anything.

“Five years ago.” Obi-Wan’s eyes rove over Anakin to see how much had changed in the man in five years. His curls were perhaps more tamed, his clothes higher quality. He wore black jeans with a grey t-shirt and a bomber jacket. Obi-Wan notes that he now bears a large scar running above and below his right eye, and it seemed typical of the man that as the years passed he acquired another serious injury. He supposed that perhaps his job was hazardous. 

“So he might not be married anymore.” Barriss corrects.

“Also he’s arrogant. And obnoxious.” Obi-Wan huffs.

“This is just like in the movies, like Ten Things I Hate About You. They spend the whole movie fighting, and then in the end it’s all of his flaws that she loves about him and they fall madly in love.” Barriss clutches her hand to her chest dramatically. Obi-Wan rolls his eyes.

“Also, he never remembers me.” As if overhearing their conversation, it is at that moment Anakin walks over to the pair.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi--” Anakin grins widely at him.

“Hello, Anakin.” Obi-Wan puts his book down and gives him his full attention.

“I thought it was you.” Anakin walks a little closer. “You cut your hair.”

“It’s me. I did. This is--” Obi-Wan turns, only to find Barriss running out of the store with a jovial wave. “Was. Barriss.” Damn her .

“How’ve you been?” Anakin leans on the bookshelf next to him.

“Fine.” Obi-Wan clips.

“Oh, fine. How’s Satine?” Anakin picks at his cuticles.

“We just broke up.” Anakin’s head snaps up, eyes widening.

“Oh, geez. That’s too bad.” To Obi-Wan, it doesn’t sound like he really means it.

“Yeah, well, you know. It happens.” Obi-Wan shoves his hands in his pockets because he isn’t quite sure what else he’s supposed to do with them. “What about you, how’s married life?” Anakin’s expression darkens.

“Not so good. I’m getting a divorce.” Obi-Wan wants to reach out and comfort Anakin, but he resolutely keeps his hands in his pockets.

“My condolences. When did this happen?” Anakin runs a hand through his hair.

“Couple of weeks ago, I guess.” The younger man shrugs.

“That’s right when Satine and I broke up.” Obi-Wan offers.

“What are the odds of that?” Anakin looks amazed. Obi-Wan scoffs.

“Pretty high. Everybody in New York breaks up this time of year.” Obi-Wan could probably name several other couples that had called it quits at around this time of year.

“Maybe it’s the pressure of Halloween.” Anakin suggests.

“Yeah. Can’t decide on a couples costume. What happened?” Obi-Wan can’t stop himself from asking.

“She left me for some woman. She realized she’s a lesbian.” Anakin stares at his shoes.

“I’m truly sorry Anakin.” Obi-Wan does reach out and pat his shoulder this time.

“Yeah. Well. What are you gonna do? What happened with you guys?” Anakin has a gracious expression on his face when he meets his eyes.

“That’s a bit of a long tale, I’m afraid.” Obi-Wan sighs, then he finds himself asking, “If you have time, would you like to get coffee?” Anakin smiles wide enough for his eyes to crinkle. 

“Absolutely.” Obi-Wan’s heart skips a beat.

\----

They’re sitting across from each other in a small coffee shop, Obi-Wan is nursing a chai latte while Anakin has a cup of hot chocolate in front of him. When asked about why he didn’t get coffee, Anakin had gotten a strange look on his face and made an excuse about shaky hands. Obi-Wan didn’t push the question. The shop is bustling, but all the noise seems to fade into the background, which happens when you live in New York for so long. Finally, they’ve gotten to Obi-Wan’s break up story.

“When Satine and I started seeing each other, we wanted exactly the same thing. We wanted to live together, but we weren’t going to do the whole marriage and kids thing because every time everyone we knew got married, it ruined their relationship and they would never have sex again. And kids would distract us from reaching our career goals. Our friends with kids, they were up all night, they were both exhausted all the time, the kids just took every sexual impulse they had out of them, and sucked up all their time. Satine and I would talk about how lucky we were, we could have sex on the kitchen floor and not worry about a kid walking in, we could fly off to Rome on a moment’s notice. We only had to focus on eachother, and our careers. Then, one day, I’m out in the park and everywhere I look, I see families. And I realize that me and Satine, we weren’t a family. So I went home, and I said, ‘the thing is Satine, we never do fly off to Rome on a moment’s notice.’”

“And sex on the kitchen floor?” Anakin interjects. Obi-Wan shakes his head and takes a sip of his tea.

“Not once. It’s this very cold and hard Mexican ceramic tile…” He finds himself lost in thought for a moment. “Anyway. We talked about it for a long time, and I said, this is what I want, and she said, well, I don’t and I said, I guess it’s over and she left. The truth is, I feel fine. I’m over her. I’m really over her. That was it for her, she wasn’t capable of giving me anything more, and I’m convinced I did the right thing.” Obi-Wan isn’t sure if he’s trying to convince himself or Anakin more. Anakin grabs his arm from across the table.

“It’s okay. If you’re not over her. That would be expected. It takes time” Anakin smiles sadly at him. Obi-Wan finds himself returning the gesture.

\-----

A little while later, Anakin finds himself walking down the street with Obi-Wan. The sun is setting and it’s beginning to get chilly. When he first saw Obi-Wan in the bookstore today, he wasn’t sure what to think. He had braced himself for another round of verbal sparring. But they had both matured in their own ways, and they were in similar transitions in their lives. Anakin felt more centered, maybe he was depressed, or maybe he had matured. But he found himself really enjoying Obi-Wan’s company.

“At least I got the apartment.” Obi-Wan concedes. It makes Anakin sigh.

“Everyone says that to me, too. But what’s so hard about getting an apartment? You read the obituaries, you find out who died, you go see the doorman. That should be a new app. Obituary real estate. It gathers all the data of who died recently and shows you where they lived. Mr. Klein died today leaving a wife, two children, and a spacious three-bedroom apartment with a wood-burning fireplace.” He hears Obi-Wan let out a startled, joyful laugh. Like he hadn’t laughed in a while, and perhaps forgot what it sounded like. It’s the best thing he’s ever heard, and Anakin makes it his new mission in life to make Obi-Wan laugh as much as possible. Of course Anakin has to then immediately put his foot in his mouth. “You know, when we first met, I really didn’t like you that much--”

“I didn’t like you.” Obi-Wan gives him a dramatic face.

“You did too. You were just so stuffy. You’re much softer now.” Anakin bumps his shoulder against Obi-Wan’s playfully.

“That’s such a backhanded compliment. You insulted me and then tried to compliment me.” Obi-Wan scorns.

“Okay, okay. You’re still hard as nails.” Anakin laughs.

“I just didn’t want to sleep with you, so you had to write if off as a character flaw instead of dealing with the possibility that it might have something to do with you.” That made Anakin’s heart clench a little bit. He really was such a tool, hitting on someone else when he had a girlfriend. Not to mention it was his girlfriend’s friend.

“What’s the statute of limitations on apologies?” Anakin rubs his mech hand on the back of his neck.

Obi-Wan pulls a face that says ‘I’m thinking very hard about this’ as he rubs his beard. “Ten years.”

“Ooh. I can just get in under the wire.” Anakin proclaims. Obi-Wan smiles one of his full teeth, sparkly eyed smiles and Anakin’s heart soars .

“Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?” Obi-Wan asks, somewhat shyly.

“Are we becoming friends now?” Anakin teases. This seems to knock Obi-Wan off-balance.

“Well, I…” Obi-Wan shrugs, but he’s got a sort of lopsided smile. “I guess we could.”

“This is amazing. You may be the most attractive friend I have not wanted to sleep with in my entire life.” Anakin was still trying to convince himself he didn’t want to sleep with Obi-Wan. But he didn’t need to know that. He thinks that he sees Obi-Wan’s smile falter just a little . But it was most likely wishful thinking.

“That’s wonderful, Anakin.” Obi-Wan rolls his eyes at him, but he’s still smiling. This, Anakin thinks, is going to be fun.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ps if you haven't seen the 90s classic 10 things i hate about you starring julia stiles and heath ledger you must go watch it RIGHT NOW. could that be my next obikin movie AU? don't tempt me.
> 
> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	4. November

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi-wan adjust to the single life together.

Obi-wan and Anakin become fast friends. Anakin is grateful to have someone going through as hard of a time as he was. He was expecting himself to feel lonely at the loss of Padme, but now that they weren’t together he noticed how little time he had spent with her towards the end of their marriage. Anakin went about his daily routine; going to work, going to the gym, playing video games, trying to eat something besides take out. He fiddles with his prosthetic, trying to improve the reaction time of the mechanical fingers. He takes the whole thing apart and puts it back together again twice.

The apartment needs to be redecorated, and Anakin makes it his new mission. It is suddenly too white and barren without Padme’s things. That project ends with a chunk of plaster missing from his wall and several new projects on his to do list. He tries to take up reading. He’s lousy at it. He’s not able to concentrate and finds himself reading the same sentence over and over again.

\------

Obi-wan does not miss Satine. In fact he’s not sure he even has _time_ to miss Satine. He dives into teaching and research, expands his office hours, spends more time mentoring students. He prepares his meals at the beginning of every week, he reads, grades papers, meditates. He doesn’t eat the meals he preps, he doesn’t retain a word of what he reads, he gives his students lackluster feedback, and he is unable to turn his mind off when he meditates. But Obi-wan doesn’t miss Satine, he’s not depressed. He is finally able to catch up on some much needed rest, going to sleep at eight every night.

Anakin has become one of the main features of his social life. They go to the movies, they meet for coffee, for dinners. Obi-wan tries to teach Anakin to cook, and he really doesn’t yell _that_ loudly when Anakin starts an oil fire. He helps Anakin fix the holes in his walls and redecorate his apartment. Obi-wan can tell Anakin is depressed, he can tell he misses Padme. So he tries to teach him meditation, to help him find his center. That ends with Obi-wan throwing a cushion at Anakin’s face after Obi-wan was hit with _yet another_ paper ball. 

While laying in bed reading one night, Obi-wan’s phone rings with an incoming Facetime call from Anakin. The younger man’s hair is wet from the shower and he appears to be lounging in his own bed shirtless. Anakin grins when he sees Obi-wan staring back at him with his reading glasses halfway down his nose. 

“Hello, Anakin. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Obi-wan sets his glasses aside, knowing he will not be getting any more reading done tonight.

“Sorry, were you sleeping?” Anakin does not sound sorry at all about the possibility of waking the older man up.

“No, I was just trying to get some reading done.” Obi-wan replies tersely.

“Oh, okay. Hey guess what’s on TV? Hercules!” Obi-wan rolls his eyes, but picks up the remote for his TV.

“What channel?”

“Disney.”

“Got it.” Obi-wan finds that they are getting towards the end of the movie, Hercules swimming through the pool of the dead looking for Meg. They watch the movie in companionable silence for a while, Obi-wan secretly taking comfort in the sound of the younger man’s breathing. “Do you still feel like Hercules should have become a God instead of going to be with Meg?” He eventually asks.

“When did I say that?” Anakin asks with a furrowed brow.

“When we drove to New York.”

“I never said that. I would never have said that.” Anakin replies defensively. “Maybe I just wanted to argue with you about something. You’re very easy to rouse a response from.” Obi-wan rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling when he does it. They go back to watching the movie, Obi-wan feels himself feeling more relaxed than he has in weeks.

“Have you been sleeping?” Obi-wan notes the bags underneath Anakin’s eyes and squints at them in concern.

“Not great.” Anakin admits. “Maybe I’m coming down with something. Last night I was up at four in the morning watching Titanic in Spanish. No te voy a soltar, Jack!” Anakin chuckles to himself and shakes his head. “I’m not well.”

“I’ve been going to bed at eight every night this week. I haven’t done that since the third grade.” Obi-wan muses.

“That’s the good thing about depression. You get your rest.”

“I’m not depressed.” Obi-wan shoots back, perhaps a little too quick. Anakin raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t mention it.

“Okay. Ooh, put on Discovery, Naked and Afraid is on.”

“How can you watch that?” Obi-wan scoffs.

“What? You don’t find it interesting watching naked people brave the wilderness and break down crying?” Anakin asks, disbelieving.

“I guess my inner scope is limited. Put on the History channel, Pawn Stars is on.”

“I’m there.”

“I can’t believe how much people think their junk is worth.” Obi-wan says distastefully.

“I can’t believe how much they pay for that junk.” Anakin counters. Obi-wan makes a noise of agreement. “Do you still sleep on the same side of the bed?” Anakin asks, small and quiet.

“I did for a while, but now I’m pretty much using the whole bed.” It’s one of the things Obi-wan has been telling himself is a bonus to living alone.

“That’s great. I feel weird when just my leg wanders over.” A tight smile crosses Anakin’s face. “I miss her.”

“I don’t miss Satine. I really don’t.”

“Not even a little?” Anakin asks, skeptic.

“You know what I miss? I miss the idea of her.” Obi-wan isn’t sure if he’s trying to convince himself or Anakin more, but he holds firm to this belief.

“Maybe I only miss the idea of Padme…” Anakin trails off, then lets out a large sigh. “No, I miss the whole Padme.” His face is miserable.

“I found this book that gives you some really good tips on how to enjoy being alone.”

“Like what?”

“Like never eat standing up. Make a nice meal for yourself and sit at a table.” Obi-wan always tried to eat at the table. If he remembered to eat at all.

“Sounds good. As soon as I get a table that’s exactly what I’ll do.” Anakin mutters. “Or learn how to cook without setting fire to my kitchen. Maybe I can build a bot to cook for me…”

“Are you going to be able to sleep?” Obi-wan asks, concerned. Feeling his own eyes starting to droop.

“If not, I’ll be okay.”

“What’ll you do?”

“I’ll stay up and moan. Wait, let me practice now.” Anakin lets out a moan that sounds like a dying animal. Obi-wan shushes him.

“Goodnight, Anakin.” Obi-wan smiles at the image of the man on his phone.

“Goodnight, Obi-wan.” Obi-wan presses the end call button, turns off his light and TV and promptly falls asleep.

\------

It’s a crisp fall day as Anakin finds himself walking through Central Park beside Obi-wan. It had become somewhat of a tradition of theirs to go on walks every Saturday, when weather allowed, as an effort to make Obi-wan work less and make Anakin leave his house. The leaves have fully changed color and more fall to the ground with every breeze. The worn leather jacket Anakin wears is perfect for keeping out the chill, without keeping too much heat in. Obi-wan is dressed more casually than when he teaches, wearing a brown coat over a grey sweater and jeans. He’s sipping on a cup of tea while Anakin tears into a soft pretzel he had bought from a food cart. Anakin is in the middle of explaining to Obi-wan a set of recurring nightmares that have been plaguing him.

“I was having sex, and the Olympic judges were watching as usual. I nailed the compulsories. So this is it. The finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadian. I got a perfect 10 from the American. And you, dressed as a Nazi, gave me a 5.6. You think there’s any meaning behind that?” He tells Obi-wan about this particular dream, just to hear the older man scoff and see him roll his eyes. When that’s the exact response he receives, he tries to hide his triumphant grin. They continue walking, and bickering along the way, until finally Anakin convinces Obi-wan to share a sex dream he has.

“Basically it’s the same one I’ve had since I was twelve.” Obi-wan is fidgeting with his thermos, avoiding Anakin’s eyes.

“What happens?” Anakin tries not to sound too eager.

“Well, it’s rather embarrassing…” Obi-wan runs his hand through his hair.

“Okay. Don’t tell me.” Anakin holds his hands up.

“So there’s this guy.” Obi-wan finally begins.

“What does he look like?”

“I don’t know. He’s sort of...faceless.”

“A faceless guy. Kind of creepy. Not to yuck your yum.” Anakin bumps Obi-wan’s side playfully. “Then what happens?”

“Then he rips off my clothes.”

“And then what?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it? A faceless guy rips off your clothes. And that’s the sex fantasy you’ve been having since you were twelve? Exactly the same?” Anakin gapes at the ginger in front of him.

“Sometimes I vary it a little.” Obi-wan puts his hands on his hips, defensive.

“Which part do you vary?” Anakin inquires, incredulous.

“What I’m wearing.” When Obi-wan says this Anakin stops to stare at him, and then he doubles over _cackling._ Obi-wan looks hurt at first, and then his lip starts to twitch too. He swats Anakin in the arm but soon enough he starts to laugh as well. Anakin decides that moments like these are why he keeps Obi-wan around.

\-----

After walking aimlessly for a while, Obi-wan finally convinces Anakin to go into the Met with him. Art museums are decidedly _not_ Anakin’s thing, but he loves the way Obi-wan’s eyes light up when he reads something particularly interesting, so he goes along with it. They’re somewhere near the Egyptian Temple exhibit when Anakin gets bored.

“Decided I have. Going to talk like this for the rest of the day we are.” Anakin tries to keep a straight face as Obi-wan turns to stare at him in bewilderment.

“Pardon?”

“How we are going to talk this is, yes.” Anakin nods sagely.

“With improper grammar?”

“A stick in your ass you have, Obi-wan.” If looks could kill, Anakin would have been vaporized by the look Obi-wan is giving him now.

“An idiot you are.”

“An idiot I am, hmm?”

“A correction I have. An _insufferable_ idiot you are.” Anakin grins maniacally.

“Friends with an insufferable idiot but still you are. Hrmmm.” Anakin points an accusing finger at Obi-wan. “An idiot too, maybe you are.”

“At artwork can I please look?” Obi-wan furrows his brow in concentration, trying to figure out what order the words go in. He lets out a sigh.

“Allow this I will.” Obi-wan turns back to read a plaque, and Anakin creeps up behind him. “Want to go to a movie tonight, do you?” The older man jumps at his proximity and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“I would love to go, Anakin, but I can’t.”

“A hot date you have?” Anakin smiles teasingly.

“Well, um, yes. As a matter of fact, I do.” Obi-wan looks down at his feet sheepishly.

“Really?” Anakin is caught off guard, but he’s trying to keep his expression schooled.

“I was going to tell you, but...I don’t know. I felt strange about it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, we’ve been so…” Obi-wan trails off, rubbing at his beard. Anakin grabs his arm and makes the short man meet his eyes.

“Hey, it’s fine with me. We’re friends. I think it’s great you have a date.” The younger man isn’t sure the twisting in his gut agrees with that statement.

“You sure?” Obi-wan searches his eyes, for what, Anakin can't be sure of.

“Sure.” Anakin gives Obi-wan a pat on the shoulder and then leans in conspiratorially. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

“Yeah. Well. I don’t know. Why?” Obi-wan looks down as if trying to remember what clothes he had on.

“I think you should wear blue more. You look good in blue. Brings out your eyes.” Anakin has to look away, trying not to blush furiously. He can feel Obi-wan’s calculating stare on him.

“You know, Anakin, you should get out there, too.” Obi-wan squeezes his arm affectionately.

“No, no, ready I am not.” Anakin shakes his head and starts walking away. Obi-wan catches up to him and lays a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“It’s time.” Anakin finally meets his eyes. Maybe it’s because he is desperate to move past Padme, or maybe it’s because Obi-wan has a date, but Anakin finds himself nodding. They spend the rest of the day arguing over where Anakin is supposed to pick up a date. Anakin suggests asking his divorce lawyer for some names of his other clients, to Obi-wan’s chagrin. And if they spend the rest of the time at the Met walking with their shoulders brushing, neither of them mention anything about it.

\------

Obi-wan had invited Anakin over to help him redecorate his apartment. It’s not going well. He bribed the younger man with a bottle of wine, which turned into two, which turned into the two of them getting a little bit more than pleasantly buzzed. Currently, they are trying to unroll a large rug in Obi-wan’s living room. Pushing the furniture out of the way had already taken longer than expected and Obi-wan was starting to regret all of his life choices.

“I think it’ll look better facing the other way, help me turn it.” Obi-wan kicks the tall man into movement. Anakin groans, but assists him in dragging the rug around. “Sorry,” Obi-wan pants, “What were you saying?” They unfurl the rug before Anakin collapses on top of it, throwing an arm over his face dramatically.

“It was the most uncomfortable night _of my life_.”

“The first date back is always the toughest.” Obi-wan lowers himself to a sitting position next to Anakin’s sprawled out body and pats the blonde’s knee. Anakin moves the arm from his face and peeks at the older man.

“You only had one date. How do you know it won’t get worse?” Anakin motions for Obi-wan to pass him the bottle of whiskey he had procured after they ran out of wine, sits up and takes a swig from it. Obi-wan rolls his eyes.

“How much worse can it get than finishing dinner, having him reach over, pull a _string off my sweater_ and start _flossing with it_ at the table?” Obi-wan laments, and grabs the bottle back from Anakin, pouring some into his own cup. Because he was not uncivilized. Anakin chuckles at Obi-wan.

“You’re talking about a dream date compared to my horror.” The red head raises an eyebrow, challenging. Anakin continues. “It started out fine, she was a nice person, and we were just talking at this Ethiopian restaurant she wanted to go to. I was nervous and making some jokes like I didn’t know they had food in Ethiopia. This’ll be a quick meal, we’ll order two empty plates and leave.” Obi-wan scoffs and admonishes him. “I know, I’m sorry I was nervous. So obviously she didn’t laugh. Or smile. So I went to small talk, I asked her where she went to school and she says Michigan State and it reminds me of Padme, and all of the sudden I’m in the middle of this massive anxiety attack, and my heart’s beating like a wild man, and I’m sweating like a pig.” He grabs the whiskey and takes a large gulp, before coughing all over Obi-wan’s new carpet.

“Padme went to Michigan State?” Obi-wan asks, sympathetically.

“No. She went to Northwestern. But they’re both Big Ten Schools.” Obi-wan looks at Anakin in disbelief, the blonde is too caught up in his story to notice. “I was so upset, I had to leave the restaurant.” Obi-wan takes his time coming up with a comforting response. He rests a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“Anakin, I think it takes a long time. It might be months before we’re actually able to enjoy going out with someone new.” Anakin nods. “And maybe even longer before we’ll be able to sleep with someone new.”

“Well. I did sleep with her.” Anakin admits shyly. “I’ve never been the type of person for casual sex, I mean I’ve had a lot of girlfriends and boyfriends, but I thought I would give hooking up a try.” Obi-wan shoots him a _look_ , before sighing and dropping the subject. His attention turns back to the rug.

“Is this too green?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for your continued support!
> 
> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	5. December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi-wan both experience their first holidays as single people together. They also experience heavy judgement from Ahsoka, Quinlan, Dex and each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello folks,
> 
> happy belated may the fourth, unfortunately i did not get holiday pay even though this totally classifies as a *international* holiday, but i did get the chance to sit down and bang out the rest of this chapter. it was weird to be writing a chapter about christmas/new years eve in the middle of may, but the holiday spirit from yesterday definitely helped get me in the mood. 
> 
> enjoy :)
> 
> \--coco

Anakin is dripping with sweat, feet moving at a lightning pace. He couldn’t let his concentration slip, not for a second. If he did, he was afraid of the consequences. Ahsoka was moving along next to him radiating furious intensity. The song comes to an end. The Dance Dance Revolution screen shows that Anakin is the winner. Ahsoka screams in anger.

“That wasn’t fair, my right foot pad sticks, I think some kid spilled coke on it.” She reaches for her own drink, wiping sweat off her brow. The arcade they’re in bustles with activity, screaming children, beeping, whooping, and the clatter of nearby skeeball. Anakin puts more quarters in the machine.

“Couple of cool down rounds?” He reaches out to Ahsoka, a truce. She nods and bumps her fist against his.

“Anyway, I don’t understand your relationship with him.” Ahsoka continues their earlier conversation about Obi-wan as the next song starts up, controls on an easier setting.

“What do you mean?” Anakin inquires, hitting a sideways jump.

“You enjoy being with him?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“You find him attractive?” Ahsoka looks over at him while moving slowly between foot pads, holding out notes.

“...yeah?” Anakin didn’t like where she was going with this line of questioning.

“And you’re _not_ sleeping with him?” The younger girl asks in disbelief. Anakin scoffs.

“Nope.”

“Why not? What are you afraid of? You’re afraid to let yourself be happy.” They hit a jump in sync and Ahsoka points an accusing finger at him.

“C’mon, Snips. Why can’t you give me credit for this? This is a big step for me, having a close relationship with someone I’m attracted to without trying to sleep with them. I’ve never been able to do this. I feel like I’m growing.” The song ends and Anakin turns to face his friend, a defensive hand on his hip. A high pitched voice speaks up from behind him.

“Are you finished playing yet?” An overconfident nine year old whines at him.

“Hey kid, I’ve got a whole pocketful of quarters and I was here first, okay?” Anakin replies petulantly. Ahsoka covers her face with a hand but Anakin can see that she’s biting her lip to keep herself from laughing.

“You were not.”

“Was too.”

“Were not!”

“Was too. Little creep.” Anakin sticks his tongue out at the child as the child flips him off and stalks off. He turns to Ahsoka, “Did you see that? Kids these days. Anyway, where was I?”

“You were growing.” Ahsoka deadpans.

“Right, anyway. I can say anything to him.” Anakin puts more quarters in the machine and selects a song.

“Are you saying you can say things to him you can’t say to me?” Ahsoka admonishes.

“No, it’s just different. He’s older. Refined. Scholarly. He has a different point of view on things. He tells me about the people he sees and I can talk to him about the people I go out with.” He glances over to check what his score is against Ahsoka’s. He hits the pads a little harder.

“You tell him about your sex life?” Ahsoka hits a rapid succession of jumps perfectly. _Damn her_.

“Yeah. Like the other night I had sex with this girl and it was so amazing, I took her to a place that wasn’t human. She actually meowed.” Anakin grins as he watches Ahsoka miss a beat.

“Wait-what? You made a woman meow?” Ahsoka’s eyes are wide and she misses another beat.

“Yeah. That’s the point. I can say these things to him, and the great thing is, I don’t have to lie because I’m not always thinking about how to get him into bed. I can just be myself.” The song finishes and Anakin is triumphant once again, he turns to smirk at Ahsoka, who has stopped moving and is staring at him in astonishment.

“You made a woman _meow_?”

\------

Dex’s Diner quickly became their favorite lunchtime spot after Obi-wan took Anakin there for the first time. Anakin tried to not find it adorable that the large chef, Dex himself, doted over Obi-wan like a mother. Obi-wan explained that Dex was his first friend in New York, and the chef had made it his personal mission to take care of him. If he noticed that Obi-wan had dark circles under his eyes, or that his clothes hung off his frame a little looser, he would send him home with _boxes_ of his favorite meals. Dex had sized Anakin up when they first met, and it was more terrifying than meeting any of his exes' parents combined. The giant man had pulled Anakin aside, after their meal, and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“I see the way you look at him, I can tell you care. And I haven’t seen Obi-wan smile this much since Satine,” He leaned in close “But if you hurt him, I’ll cut your balls off and saute them myself, kapeesh?” Anakin’s eyes widened, he didn’t doubt Dex’s threat for a moment. He nodded quickly which roused a deep laugh from the chef’s throat. With a slap on the back, Dex sent him scrambling back to Obi-wan, who was waiting by the door, an eyebrow arched. “I like him, Obi-wan! You should bring him around more often!” The ginger had laughed at Anakin’s red face and waved a goodbye to Dex.

Currently, Obi-wan sits across from Anakin at their usual booth, half eaten sandwiches between them. Anakin was recounting a one night stand from the previous weekend, ignoring his inner revulsion with himself, and Obi-wan was judging him as politely as possible.

“So you’re telling me, you have sex with these people and just roll out of bed and _leave_?” The shorter man stipulates.

“Yep.”

“How do you do it? What do you say?” Obi-wan takes a sip of his tea. 

“I have an early meeting, or an early squash game or something.” Anakin shrugs.

“You don’t even play squash.” Grey-green eyes narrow at him.

“They just met me. They don’t know that.” Anakin argues.

“Should I be concerned with your propensity for lying?” 

“Yes. Very much so.”

“Perhaps it’s good I never got involved with you. I would have just been another conquest that you left at three AM to steam your suits. I don’t think you even own a steamer. Or an iron. _Or a suit_ . Not that I would have known that.” He crosses his arms across his chest and _pouts_. Anakin throws a french fry at him.

“Why are you getting so upset about this? It’s not about you, Obi.”

“Yes it is, _Ani_. You’re an affront to all humankind. And I’m a human.”

“Look. I don’t feel great about this, but I don’t hear anyone complaining!” Anakin runs his mech hand through his hair. Obi-wan rolls his eyes.

“Of course not. You’re out the door too fast to hear them.”

“I think they have an okay time.” Anakin smirks.

“How do you know?” Obi-wan raises his jaw and his eyes are full of challenge.

“What do you mean, _how_ do I know? _I know_.” Anakin tries to make sure Obi-wan understands his innuendo.

“Because they…?” Obi-wan does some gesture with his hand and Anakin has to bite back a laugh, trying to figure out what sexual act that was supposed to be.

“Yes of course because they…” Anakin makes the gesture back at Obi-wan.

“How do you know they’re really…” Obi-wan repeats the gesture.

“What are you saying? They only pretend to be enjoying themselves?” Anakin is legitimately offended that Obi-wan has such little faith in his sexual prowess.

“It’s possible.” Obi-wan shrugs.

“Get out of here.” Anakin throws another french fry.

“Why? Most people at one point or another have definitely pretended to be having a better time than they actually are.” Obi-wan lays it out like it’s the most logical thing in the world.

“Yeah, well no one is faking with me, okay?” Anakin really hopes the older man drops the subject. He’s starting to feel somewhat insecure.

“How do you know?”

“Because _I know_.” It’s Anakin’s turn to pout.

“You are so _stubborn_ , Anakin. It’s not a personal attack, not all people are sexually compatible.”

“What, you don’t think I can tell the difference when someone is faking?” Anakin narrows his eyes. Obi-wan steadily meets his gaze.

“No.”

“Please. Don’t be ridiculous.” Anakin takes a bite out of his sandwich and stares Obi-wan down. The older man looks contemplative for a moment before his expression turns to one of steely determination and then...pain? Obi-wan’s brows are furrowed, his lips parted and he lets out a low moan. 

“...do you feel okay?” Anakin questions, bewildered. Obi-wan’s head rolls back, exposing the pale line of his neck and he lets out another shuddering moan.

“Oh, _Anakin_ , right there, _oh God yes_ .” Obi-wan’s eyes are closed, he’s biting his lip and Anakin’s brain is short circuiting, a blush creeping up his neck. He looks around uncomfortably at the other patrons, finding amused and questioning glances being aimed towards their table. His eyes dart back to Obi-wan who is positively babbling, moaning and thrashing in his seat. He’s gasping, moaning, and screaming Anakin’s name and Anakin is torn between arousal and _horror_. 

Abruptly, Obi-wan lets out a little sigh and his grey-green eyes meet Anakin’s with a smirk. The older man holds his gaze while he picks up his tea, as if nothing had happened. The diner goes back to its usual activity, and Anakin swears he hears Dex’s booming laugh from the kitchen. Anakin is aware that his pants are now uncomfortably _tight_ and he shifts in his seat trying to release some tension. 

A table over he hears an older woman declare, “I’ll have what he’s having.”

Obi-wan snorts into his tea, and then Anakin is laughing along with him. Any residual tension falls away as they dissolve into hysterics, their food and more importantly, Anakin’s inappropriate arousal, long forgotten.

\------

Obi-wan hasn’t always been particularly fond of holidays. He disliked crowds, and most of his family was dead, so there wasn’t much of a point. Anakin on the other hand, _adored_ the holidays. The engineer had told Obi-wan that his mom saved and scraped everything she had together all year to make Christmas special for him. In her memory, Anakin went all out with decorations, presents and music. 

This year, Anakin seemed hellbent on not allowing his divorce ruin the holiday season. The younger man found it despicable that Obi-wan had no holiday spirit, so he made it his mission to include the professor in all of his holiday preparations. Which is how Obi-wan found himself helping Anakin drag a Christmas tree through the streets of Brooklyn on the first day of December. After wrestling the tree up the steps and into Anakin’s apartment, Obi-wan was handed a glass of spiked eggnog, which made him wrinkle his nose in distaste after the first sip. Anakin finished the drink for him, and allowed Obi-wan to spend the rest of the night drinking rum instead. They got pleasantly drunk, and set to decorating the younger man’s apartment.

Boozy Anakin in full Christmas spirit was a _sight to behold_. He wore antlers upon his curly blonde locks with a matching red nose and he was wrapped in tinsel. The man glided around the apartment, singing his offkey renditions of Christmas carols and covering every available inch of his apartment in cheer.

Later, when the tree was trimmed and the apartment was shining with multicolored lights, Obi-wan realized he had dozed off and found himself trapped underneath a very tall sleeping reindeer. And if Obi-wan just pulled a blanket over them and went right back to sleep, well he could blame it on a combination of alcohol and the damned holiday spirit.

\-----

A few weeks later, Quinlan dragged Obi-wan into decorating Christmas cookies with his niece Alice, that he was watching while her parents went shopping for presents. Obi-wan would not classify what Quinlan was doing to those cookies as _decorating_ , but the cookies that Alice and Obi-wan were responsible for were turning out quite neat.

“Hey, how did the date you went on last weekend go?” Quinlan asks while massacring another cookie.

“Well, his name was Raymond Bradley. Don’t even bother committing it to memory.” Obi-wan lets out a large sigh and shakes some green sparkles onto a cookie.

“Okay, so it went badly. That’s even better, I love hearing about horrible dates. What happened?”

“Well to start, he had an _air_ collection.” Quinlan’s eyebrows shot to his hairline.

“An _air_ collection? What does he do? Fart in jars?” Obi-wan can’t stop himself from snorting. He flicks some icing towards his friend, which gets stuck in one of his dreadlocks.

“You almost got it right. He has all these jars that are labeled, they commemorate important events in history. Like anything from nine-eleven to when the Yankees won the world series.” The auburn haired man begins to make a cookie for Anakin, writing his name on it in big letters.

“He was _at_ those events? With mason jars?” Quinlan raises a skeptical eyebrow. Obi-wan shakes his head.

“No. Whenever something important happens he just goes outside, opens up a mason jar, scoops up some air, caps it, and labels it.” Obi-wan recounts. His friend gives him a look that says ‘how do you find these people’ before his eyes dart down to the cookie in front of Obi-wan. Quinlan smirks.

“I don’t see why you don’t just get involved with your friend Anakin.” Obi-wan tenses.

“Because that’s just it. We’re friends.” He can’t help but hope Quinlan accepts this and moves on from the topic. Of course he doesn’t. 

“But if you could be more…?”

“No...he’s…” Obi-wan puts down the icing he’s holding and runs a hand over his face.

“He’s what?” Quinlan shrugs.

“He’s a mess.” Obi-wan finally supplies.

“Then why are you making a cookie for him?”

“...he’s a nice mess.”

\------

Anakin is warm and buzzing, he’s unsure if it’s from the champagne, the dancing, or being on the edge of the new year. He spins Obi-wan out, and brings him back in for a dip, which makes the older man release an indignant squak. Anakin gives him a wolfish grin before swinging the man back up right. Sweat drips down the back of Anakin’s neck into his suit jacket. They’re at a fancy New Year’s party one of Obi-wan’s colleagues was throwing and he feels out of place. They’re surrounded by long dresses, tuxedos, and polite laughter. A real life band is playing on the stage, and Anakin is already thinking about how he is going to get back at the shorter man in front of him for dragging him along to this. However, he’s finding it increasingly difficult to stay mad at Obi-wan. The older man is the most relaxed Anakin has ever seen him. His cheeks are flushed and he has a sparkly new years headpiece resting atop his auburn hair, pushing just three pieces of hair down onto his forehead that cause Anakin’s fingers to _itch_ with the urge to push them back up into place. 

“I really want to thank you for coming with me to this, Anakin.” Obi-wan looks up at him with a genuine smile while they dance.  
“Don’t mention it. And next year, if neither one of us is with somebody, you’ve got a date.” Anakin squeezes his shoulder affectionately.

“Deal.” Obi-wan is smiling up at him with his blue-grey eyes, and he finds his hand moving all by itself, to brush the shorter man’s hair back into place. Anakin feels like suddenly all of the air has gone out of the room, his hand is still cupping Obi-wan’s face, and he swears he sees his eyes darken. The moment is broken when the song ends and everyone applauds for the band. Anakin jumps away from Obi-wan in surprise, and watches the older man turn to applaud the band as well, all put together as if nothing had happened.

“Do you want to get some air?” Anakin asks in Obi-wan’s ear, over the applause. He sees Obi-wan’s nod and then grabs the shorter man’s hand and drags him out to a large deck, where other people have gathered to count down the new year. Obi-wan leans over the railing, and then he turns to look seriously at Anakin.

“Do you think the fact that we’re friends, and we spend so much time together is keeping us from finding someone?” Anakin blanches, it was unlike Obi-wan to be so direct about issues, but perhaps the alcohol, or the buzz from the beginning of a new year gave him the courage to ask. Perhaps that’s why Anakin also responds so boldly.

“Yes. So I think we should stop being friends, go home right now, and _fuck_.” The taller man watches Obi-wan’s ears redden and he grins triumphantly. A mix of emotions crossover Obi-wan’s face; surprise, confusion, something darker, and then resignation. The people around them start counting down to midnight.

“You don’t mean that. You know you don’t.” Obi-wan splutters. Anakin wanted to pull the shorter man into his arms and explain how _much_ he _meant_ it, but he’s interrupted by the loud cheers around him, signalling that it was now midnight. Everyone around them is kissing and hugging and celebrating, so Anakin leans down a presses a chaste kiss to Obi-wan’s lips, revelling in the feeling of the other man’s beard against his cheek. It’s awkward, and obviously strictly platonic, but he pulls back and gives Obi-wan a dazzling grin.

“Happy New Year, Obi-wan.” The older man blinks up at Anakin before returning his smile warmly.

“Happy New Year, Anakin.”

\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shakes head* they're getting in their own way. the pining is real.  
> if you got second hand embarrassment from the diner scene, SAME. it was very hard to write. sorry.  
> also i used to have a passion for dance dance revolution so naturally ahsoka and anakin had to play it at the arcade. 
> 
> sidenote i really enjoy reading all of your comments and reactions! i have bad social anxiety so im not sure if im supposed to reply to all of them and then i spiral about what if someone gets offended i replied to someone else's comment but not theirs and it's like when people write on your facebook wall for your birthday, what is the proper protocol? do you say thank you to everyone? is that too much? i just end up liking everyones post and not saying thank you to anyone. i would like all of your comments if that was an option but its not. sorry for the rambling, i just worked night shift and my brain lost it's filter. see ya next week!
> 
> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	6. Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi-wan bump into each other at a coffee shop and their worlds collide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya,
> 
> little bit of a time jump happening here. the next two chapters will be like that so they'll be a little shorter. but on the bright side i know how many chapters we have left!
> 
> thanks for your continued support! 
> 
> \--coco

The rest of winter passed in a cold, snowy blur to Anakin. After the holidays, he had nothing left to look forward to. He found himself thinking often of Padme, what she was doing, if she was happier without him. He went on dates and tried to fill the void with sex. It didn’t help much. 

What did help was Obi-wan’s calming presence either in person or over the phone. The older man listened to Anakin rant after a particularly terrible day and always made him feel better. They didn’t talk about the New Years kiss. Anakin tried not to spend too much time thinking about it, everyone kissed on New Years, they were just fulfilling a holiday tradition.

Ahsoka also helped in her own way. She was a happy distraction in his life, always full of energy and down for any adventure. Unlike his relationship with Obi-wan, his relationship with Ahsoka was uncomplicated, she was a lesbian, so there was never the issue of sexual tension like with Obi-wan.

Ahsoka is currently sitting across from Anakin in their favorite coffee shop. It’s Anakin’s favorite because they make him fancy hot chocolate with foam art. It’s Ahsoka’s favorite because it’s usually quiet enough for her to get work done without much interruption. Today, the shop is busier than usual, most of the tables filled.

Ahsoka is recounting in vivid detail her most recent break up. Anakin was trying to follow along, but he lost her once she started going on about how they mutually ended things based on the irreconcilable differences they faced with Ahsoka being a sagittarius and Cara being a pisces.

Behind Ahsoka, Anakin suddenly sees familiar auburn hair and hears the unmistakable accent of Obi-wan Kenobi. Obi-wan was standing in line, looking up at the menu. Anakin was surprised, Obi-wan typically only came out to Brooklyn to see Anakin, so seeing him in this coffee shop was out of place. It’s then that Anakin sees that Obi-wan isn’t alone. He’s accompanied by a serious looking woman with olive skin and freckles. A pang of jealousy went through Anakin before he could help it, was Obi-wan on a date?

“Okay don’t look now. But Obi-wan is behind you in line.  _ With some girl _ ” Anakin slouches and leans across the table to whisper to Ahsoka. Ahsoka’s eyes shoot to her hairline and she whips her head around so fast, one of her braids almost slaps Anakin in the face. “Ahsoka, _ I said don’t look!” _

Ahsoka turns back around and smirks at Anakin. “Skyguy, are you  _ jealous _ ? I thought you said you and Obi-wan were  _ just friends _ ?”

“We are!” Anakin stammers and blushes, “But it’s awkward to run into him on a date!”

Ahsoka raises an eyebrow, “Would it be awkward for you to run into me on a date?”

“No, but that’s  _ different _ .” Ahsoka rolls her eyes.

“I give up. You’re an idiot. But if it makes you feel any better, the girl he’s with is totally gay.”

“What, how do you know? You looked at her for two seconds!”

“I have  _ excellent _ gaydar. You want to bet?”

“Fine.  _ Twenty bucks _ says she’s straight.” He holds out his hand, and Ahsoka shakes it.

“Deal.”

“Wait how are you going to—“ Before Anakin can finish that sentence Ahsoka is turning in her chair again and,  _ oh no _ .

“Obi-wan!” Anakin watches Obi-wan look around in confusion before his eyes land on Ahsoka, and then Anakin. A smile breaks over his face.  _ Oh crap _ . Anakin waves at the short man half heartedly. Ahsoka is waving at Obi-wan and gesturing at the two empty chairs at their table. Obi-wan turns and says something in the ear of his date, who looks over at their table and nods. They pick up their drinks and start heading over.

“Ahsoka, I swear to god I am going to—Obi-wan! What brings you to my fine borough today?”  _ Shut up Anakin, you don’t own Brooklyn _ . Obi-wan sits down next to Anakin, and his date sits down next to Ahsoka.

“Hello there, Anakin. Nice to see you too. Barriss lives over here and we decided to meet up for tea and coffee.” Anakin looks down to see Obi-wan’s milky looking tea and wrinkles his nose.  _ Barriss _ , that makes sense. Anakin had heard Obi-wan talk about her before. He feels a weight lift off his shoulders.

“Hi Obi-wan, I’m Ahsoka. It’s nice to finally meet you, Anakin  _ doesn’t shut up about you _ .” She smiles brightly at Obi-wan despite Anakin kicking her under the table. She just kicks him back harder, as if nothing had occurred. Obi-wan chuckles and fixes Anakin with a bemused smile.

“Oh he doesn’t, does he? Interesting. It’s lovely to meet you as well, Ahsoka. Anakin is very fond of you.”

They make small talk, that it’s starting to finally get warm again and Anakin and Obi-wan recount their weeks at work. Ahsoka laments about a difficult client she was graphic designing for. Anakin notes that Barriss is somewhat quiet, but he supposes that’s just her personality.

“Barriss, what do you do for work?” The taller man asks, wanting to involve her in the conversation and not just because of his bet with Ahsoka.

Barriss blushes, “I’m an artist, I do odd jobs here and there too to pay the bills.”

“She’s being modest, she has lots of members on the instagram, is that what they’re called?” Obi-wan looks to Barris, who just shakes her head sadly at the ginger. Anakin tries not to find Obi-wan’s lack of social media knowledge endearing. “Oh well. And she has an online website where she sells her art. She does very well for herself.” Ahsoka’s head snaps towards Barriss.

“Wait. You’re  _ the _ Barriss Offee?” Ahsoka’s eyes are as wide as saucers and Anakin doesn’t think he’s ever seen that look on his friend before.

“Yes?” Barriss looks somewhat taken aback, but also flattered.

“Ohmygod.  _ I love your work _ . I have a tattoo of one of your pieces!” Ahsoka shamelessly lifts her shirt to reveal a design on her rib cage, and now Barriss’ eyes are as wide as well and she’s staring at Ahsoka like she’s the most wonderful thing in the world.

“I remember seeing your message about it! That’s amazing, I can’t believe someone actually got _my work_ _tattooed on their body_. What are the odds that I meet you?”

“Pretty high I would say considering you have almost a million followers. Seriously  _ you are so good _ .” Ahsoka is now fully turned towards Barriss and rests a hand on her arm.

“Oh thank you. You’re too kind.” Barriss’ face is bright red, but she has a pleased smile.

The two women dissolve into such a fast paced conversation that it’s hard to follow. They’re completely facing each other on their side of the table, which leaves Obi-wan and Anakin to their own devices. Obi-wan raises his eyebrows at Anakin and sips his tea. They communicate silently for a little while, with facial expressions and hand gestures before they’re startled by Ahsoka.

“Um of course I want to see it! What are we waiting for?” The darker skinned girl all but yanks Barriss out of her seat. Barris turns to the two men with an apologetic look on her face.

“It was nice meeting you Anakin, I’ll talk to you later Obi-wan.” Ahsoka bodily drags Barriss out of the coffee shop and throws a wave over her shoulder at them.

“That was an interesting development.” Obi-wan chuckles, grinning at his companion.

“We need to do something about your social media knowledge, old man.” Anakin laughs before he’s hit abruptly with a startling revelation. “ _ Crap _ . Now I owe Ahsoka twenty bucks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're a fan of the movie, i went completely off script with this chapter. in the movie harry and sally try to set their friends up with the other person and the friends end up falling in love. my HC for ahsoka is that she's a lesbian so it made no sense for anakin to try to set her up with obi-wan. so chance meeting in a coffee shop was born. i hope you guys liked it!
> 
> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	7. Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barriss and Ahsoka move in together, Anakin and Obi-wan try to be helpful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovelies,
> 
> thanks for your continued love. work has been busy this week and my computer has been acting up so i've written most of this on my phone. i am very excited to get this chapter out, because the next chapter is going to be even better. :)
> 
> love you all lots, thanks for the comments and kudos!
> 
> \--coco

“Anakin for the love of— _ stop trying to hit me with that _ .” Obi-wan ducks to avoid the drone that had nearly decapitated him. They’re in one of those stores that has everything; fancy electronics, massage chairs, housewares. Obi-wan was certain the two of them could spend hours browsing through it. 

“I should  _ totally _ get one of these! I wonder if I could add an AI feature to it. How cool would that be? A flying personal assistant!” Anakin looks gleefully at the drone before landing it in front of him, turning it over to look at it thoughtfully.

“Knowing you, it would turn into a killer robot. That’s the last thing we need.” Obi-wan pinches his brow and let’s put a long sigh. “For the last time: we’re not here for you, we’re here to get a housewarming gift for Ahsoka and Barriss.” 

“I think Ahsoka and Barriss would really appreciate a flying personal assistant!”

“Anakin.”

“Okay, okay.” Anakin wanders over to the kitchen section before stopping in his tracks. “This! This is what they need! Imagine the parties!”

Anakin switches on the karaoke machine and scrolls on until he finds a song he likes. Call Me Maybe starts blaring from the speaker and to Obi-wan’s absolute  _ horror _ Anakin starts singing along. 

Obi-wan looks around to see a few shoppers giving them curious looks, but there weren’t that many people around.

“Obi-wan Kenobi to the karaoke machine, Obi-wan to the karaoke machine.” Anakin is grinning at him and gesturing wildly for Obi-wan to join him. The older man finally gives in and reluctantly grabs the other microphone to start singing along. Obi-wan thinks he should be embarrassed by how carried away they’re getting, but with Anakin jumping along beside him, he can’t bring himself to care.

It occurs to Obi-wan that he no longer hears Anakin singing and he turns to the taller man, “I’m sorry I really am dreadful at singing, I’ve gone and spoiled it.” But he finds that Anakin is standing stock still, staring off into the distance. All of the color has left his face, and Obi-wan thinks maybe he’s going to throw up. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Padmé.”

“ _ What _ ?” Obi-wan asks, dumbfounded and realizes a little too late he had spoken into the microphone. He sets it back on the stand. Why is Anakin mentioning Padmé right now?

“Padmé. She’s right there. Walking right towards me.” Anakin’s voice is devoid of all emotion, Obi-wan whips his head around and sees a very stylish, dark haired woman walking towards them.

“How are you, Ani?” Padme asks when she reaches them. Anakin swallows audibly.

“Fine, I’m fine.” Anakin is just standing there, staring at Padmé, who’s eyes flick over to Obi-wan.

“Hello, Padme. I’m Obi-wan Kenobi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Obi-wan steps in between them and shakes Padme’s hand politely.

“Nice to meet you, Obi-wan. I recognize your name, I think we must have mutual friends.” She offers him a polite smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. Politicians.

“I wouldn’t be surprised, this city feels rather small at times.” Obi-wan lets out a small laugh and Padme does as well. There’s a beat where no one says anything.

“Well, I best be going.” Padme smiles at them both.

“Yeah. Bye.” Anakin replies despondently.

“Take care.” Obi-wan says politely. Padme turns and walks away. Obi-wan turns to regard Anakin, who hasn’t moved and is still clutching the microphone. “Are you okay?”

“Perfect. I’m perfect.” Obi-wan raises an eyebrow at the man, disbelieving. “She looked weird. She looked very weird. Didn’t you think she looked weird?”

“I can’t judge if she looked weird, I’ve never seen her before today.”

“Trust me, she looked weird. Her legs looked heavier too. Didn’t you think? She’s retaining water.”

“Anakin.”

“What? That woman saved everything.”

Obi-wan lets it go. They end up buying Ahsoka and Barriss a peace lily and a cheese board. Obi-wan pays for them while Anakin stands and stares off into the distance, the muscle in his jaw twitching.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Obi-wan asks once they’re outside.

“I’m fine. It had to have happened at some point. In a city of eight million people, you’re bound to run into your former wife. So it happened. And now I’m fine.”

Obi-wan doesn’t believe him in the slightest, but he knows better than to argue with Anakin when he gets like this. He shepherds the taller man along the street until they reach the subway that will take them to Ahsoka and Barriss’ new apartment. 

Once they’re inside, they set down their presents and say their hellos. Anakin is still quieter than usual and Obi-wan tries to fill the space with compliments on the original hardwood flooring and crown moldings.

“Okay Barriss, we’ll get Obi-wan and Anakin’s opinion on it.” Ahsoka points to a large wagon wheel that’s been converted into a coffee table with a round plate glass over it. “What do  _ you  _ think of it?” Her question is pointed towards Anakin, betting on getting the man on her side of the argument.

“It’s nice.” Anakin shrugs.

“Case closed!” Ahsoka chirps and smirks at Barriss.

“You can’t trust Anakin’s opinion on  _ furniture _ ! He would sleep in a racecar bed if we let him!” Barriss argues and Obi-wan can’t help but agree with her on that. “Obi, what do you think of it?”

Obi-wan walks over to the coffee table and examines it closer, bringing a hand to his beard. It really is rather ugly. “It doesn’t fit with your other furniture.”

“See?” Barriss turns to Ahsoka.

“What’s so awful about it? I think it’s rustic!” Ahsoka squawks.

“It’s so awful there’s no way to even begin to explain what’s so awful about it.” Barriss sniffs.

“I don’t object to any of  _ your _ things—“

“Look it just messes up the whole feng shui of the apartment. It doesn’t fit with the aesthetic. It’s not personal, Ahsoka.” Barriss walks closer to Ahsoka and places a comforting hand on her back. “I’m an artist, I‘m picky.”

“I have good taste.” Ahsoka pouts.

“Everyone in the world thinks they have good taste and a good sense of humor—“ Barriss begins, but is interrupted by Anakin letting out a dark laugh. He stands abruptly and the women fall silent. 

“You start out like this—“ He waves a hand at the room, “We started out like this, we had blank walls. We hung things. We looked at swatches. And you know what happens?” The tall man’s voice is growing in volume, and his hands are shaking. “Six years later you wind up singing ‘Call me Maybe’ on a fucking karaoke machine in front of her in a Bed Bath and Beyond!” Anakin’s shoulders are shaking and it looks like he might have a full on breakdown right there. Obi-wan steps to his side.

“Anakin, I know you’re upset, but is the right time to talk about this?” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Obi-wan knows it was the wrong thing to say. 

“What’s wrong with right now? It’s the perfect time to talk about this. I just want them to see the  _ realities  _ of what this leads to. Everything’s fine, everybody’s in love, everybody’s happy—and before you know it, you’re screaming at each other about who owns the speakers,” He picks up a plate, “Someday you’ll be fighting over this dish. I mean it.  _ Put your name in your books _ . Now, while you’re unpacking them, before they get all mixed together and you can’t remember whose is whose. Because someday, believe it or not, you’re going to be fighting over who’s going to get this coffee table, this  _ stupid wagon wheel coffee table _ !” Anakin’s voice had risen until he was shouting, now he stands there looking _ furious _ , breathing heavily.

“I thought you liked it.” Ahsoka mutters.

“ _ I was being nice _ !” Anakin shouts before stomping out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Ahsoka, Barriss, and Obi-wan all stand there in shocked silence, just staring at each other.

“What just happened?” Barriss asks, looking to Ahsoka and Obi-wan.

“He just ran into Padme.” Obi-wan sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. He shoots them an apologetic look before following Anakin out the door. He finds the younger man pacing in front of the steps leading up to their front door. When he sees Obi-wan he stops.

“I know. I know. I shouldn’t have done that.” Anakin sighs.

“Anakin, you have to find a way of not expressing every feeling you have every moment you have them.” Obi-wan doesn’t mean to lecture the man, but Anakin’s outbursts were beginning to become a trend.

“Oh really?” Anakin narrows his eyes.

“Yes. There are times and places that are appropriate for expressing emotions.” Obi-wan crosses his arms across his chest. 

“Well, when you’re giving your next TED talk in social graces, let me know. I’ll sign up.” 

“You don’t have to get angry about it.”

“I think I’m entitled to a little anger when I’m being told how to live my life by the ice queen.” Anakin sneers.

“You’re about to cross a line, Anakin.” Obi-wan warns.

“So what? Is that the end of the world? Crossing the line? You know what your problem is? You stand too far behind the line. I don’t think you can even see the line from where you’re standing.” Anakin throws his hands up.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Obi-wan keeps his distance on the top step, staring down at Anakin.

“I mean nothing bothers you. You never get upset about anything.” Anakin takes a step up, beginning to encroach on Obi-wan’s space.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“What? You never got upset about Satine. I never see it back up on you. How is that possible? Don’t you experience any feelings of loss?” Anakin takes another step, his expression stormy.

“I’ve experienced my loss. I had my mourning period. I’m done with it.” The shorter man says defensively.

“What mourning period? You sit and do your meditation bullshit and it’s like you never felt anything at all.” Anakin is one step below Obi-wan, and with their height difference they’re almost at eye level. 

“I don’t have to take this from you.” Obi-wan finally snaps, and turns on his heel and walks back into the building, just trying to get away. Anakin follows him.

“If you’re so over Satine, why haven’t you been seeing anyone?” The blonde haired man insists.

“I see people.” Obi-wan notices that Anakin has followed him inside and storms back outside.

“See people? Let me ask you something. Have you slept with  _ one _ person since breaking up with Satine?” Obi-wan’s cool resolve  _ breaks _ .

“What the hell does that have to do with _anything_? _That_ will prove I’m over Satine? Because I _fuck somebody_?” Obi-wan watches Anakin’s brows meet his hairline when the swear leaves his mouth. The older man never swears. “Anakin you’re going to have to move to New Jersey because you’ve slept with everybody in New York, and I don’t see that turning Padme into a faint memory to _you._ Besides, I’ll sleep with someone when it _means_ _something_. Not the way you do it, like you’re out for revenge or something.”

“Are you finished?” Anakin asks.

“Yes.” Obi-wan raises his chin, challenging.

“I’m sorry, Obi-wan.” Anakin gathers the smaller man in his arms and holds him. Obi-wan can feel any anger drain out of him when Anakin presses a kiss to his forehead. They stay like that for a moment before a crash behind them breaks them apart. 

Ahsoka is dragging the coffee table out the door. When they make eye contact her expression turns dangerous, “ _ Not a word _ .”

——-

A few weeks later, Anakin finds himself in Ahsoka and Barriss’ apartment again for a game night. Personally, he thought it was a stupid idea, but he had to go to show his support for Ahsoka. So he brought along a guy he had been on a few dates with, Rex. The blonde man was a personal trainer at Anakin’s gym that he had admired from afar for a long time. Mostly lusting after his large arms and easy smile. When Rex eventually made conversation by correcting Anakin on his form, well. It took about five minutes for Anakin to find himself getting fucked against the wall of a private training room. His relationship with Rex was mostly based around sex, but the other man was easy going, so he had happily agreed to game night.

Currently, Anakin is squeezed halfway onto Rex’s lap on one of the couches in the living room. Next to him is Ahsoka, and her other side is Obi-wan’s friend Quinlan. Anakin had met Quinlan a few times, and liked him fine enough, although he sometimes didn’t like the way the man bossed Obi-wan around. But the larger issue with Quinlan was his wife, Asajj Ventress. They had gotten into a rather large fight when they first met, the topic of which Anakin could no longer remember,  _ and  _ he just couldn’t stand her flirty banter with Obi-wan. Come to think of it, he couldn’t stand  _ Quinlan’s  _ flirty banter with Obi-wan either. It was like they were constantly trying to convince the man to join their marriage and Obi-wan just  _ went along with it _ . In Anakin’s opinion, the whole situation was just weird. 

Ventress is lounging in an armchair next to Quinlan, shooting mocking smiles at Anakin ever so often. Like she knows some big secret. What was her  _ problem _ ? Anakin resolves to avoid all eye contact with the woman for the foreseeable future.

On the loveseat Obi-wan sits next to his date, Hera. Hera appeared to be younger than most of the people there, being in her twenties rather than thirties. But she was classically pretty, and was so sweet she could give you a cavity. Anakin just thought that she was too young for Obi-wan. 

Barriss is settling herself back into an armchair on the other side of the love seat, handing a marker off to Obi-wan. They’re in the middle of a game of guessing the phrase from the drawing, split into teams. It’s Anakin, Obi-wan, Ahsoka and Quinlan versus Rex, Hera, Barriss and Asajj. Obi-wan picks a word out of a bowl and then steps up to the large notepad they have on one of Barriss’s easels.

The older man starts fervently drawing two circles and Ahsoka calls out.

“It’s a monkey! Monkey see monkey do!” Obi-wan shakes his head no and continues to draw. “Okay, an ape? Going ape!” Ahsoka tries again.

“Looks like a baby…” Quinlan interjects, which causes Obi-wan to nod frantically and write baby on the board.

“Planet of the apes!” Ahsoka shouts. Anakin shoots her a look.

“Calm down, snips. He already said it was a baby. How about: planet of the dopes?” He punches her shoulder playfully.

“Well it doesn’t _ look _ like a baby.” Ahsoka frowns.

“Thirty seconds.” Barriss interrupts. Obi-wan has now drawn lines and arrows coming out of the baby’s mouth. Quinlan, Ahsoka, and Anakin all start talking over each other.

“Big mouth.”

“Baby mouth.”

“ _ Big  _ baby mouth.”

“Baby teeth.”

“Baby spit up.”

“Baby burp.”

“Burp the baby.”

“Baby ape.”

“Baby’s breath.”

“Ten seconds.” Obi-wan has given up and is pinching his brow.

“Crying baby.”

“Poor baby.”

“Change the baby.”

“Orphan baby.”

“Time!” Barriss cheers. Obi-wan shakes his head and lets out one of his  _ long suffering _ sighs.

“Baby talk.”

“Baby talk isn’t a saying!” Ahsoka complains.

“Oh but baby ape is sweeping the nation.” Anakin grins at her. Ahsoka hits him. Anakin watches Hera stand and go to hug Obi-wan from the corner of his eye. He watches Obi-wan lean down to kiss her and averts his eyes, something hot curling in his stomach.

“Ahsoka. You were going to show me the new game you got in the basement.” Anakin says pointedly.

“Right! Let’s go.” Ahsoka rises from the couch. Anakin kisses Rex with maybe a bit more passion than appropriate before he follows Ahsoka down the steps, ignoring the itching feeling he gets on the back of his neck.

——

Obi-wan watches Anakin go. The tight feeling he got in his chest when he watched the taller man kiss Rex obviously came from his anxiety of Anakin getting hurt again. Obi-wan follows Barriss into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea.

“Rex seems a little bit dull does he not?” Obi-wan inquires, with his back to Barriss.

“He’s a good guy. You should get to know him.” Barriss replies mildly, setting up some snacks to bring out.

“What is there to know about him? All he seems to care about is lifting.” Obi-wan turns the kettle on and crosses his arms. Barriss raises an eyebrow.

“He took us all to see Hamilton last week, it was great.”

“You all went to Hamilton?” Obi-wan blanches.

“Yeah, Rex’s twin is one of the dancers. It was a last minute thing.” Barriss shrugs, sliding her box of teas over to Obi-wan.

“But Anakin hates musicals.” Obi-wan argues, taking the kettle off the stove.

“Hera seems great.” Barriss offers, pointedly changing the subject.

“Yes, although she’s a little young. I found out she’s friends with one of my students.”

——

As soon as they’re downstairs, Anakin turns to Ahsoka.

“Doesn’t Hera seem a little young to you?” Ahsoka rolls her eyes at him.

“Sure, she’s young. But look at what she’s done.”

“What has she done? She makes desserts.” Anakin is assuredly  _ not _ pouting.

“It’s not just desserts, idiot. The girl makes 3,500 mousse pies a week.” Ahsoka points out. Anakin suddenly remembers the bakery he walks past near his apartment that always has a line down the sidewalk.

“Hera is  _ Aunt Hera _ ?” Anakin asks in disbelief, then adds, “Obi-wan doesn’t even  _ like  _ sweets.” Ahsoka shakes her head at him.

“Rex is really terrific.” Anakin nods, still distracted by the thought of Obi-wan being with a celebrity baker.

“Yeah, he’s fantastic in bed. And he’s really  _ nice _ . I don’t think I’ve ever dated someone so nice before.” Anakin grins at Ahsoka. The woman gives him a strange look and they head back upstairs. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	8. October

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> notice that I’ve changed the rating to E ;)  
> enjoy!  
> —coco

Anakin tinkers with a robot part, listening to music and concentrating fully on the task at hand when the music is suddenly cut off and replaced with his phone vibrating. He tries to wipe some grease off his hands before rolling his chair over to answer it. The tall man feels as if something has punched him in the gut upon seeing the caller ID. The name _Padme Amidala_ with a skull and crossbones emoji stares back at him. Anakin stares at it for a few moments before realizing with a curse that the call would soon go to voicemail.

“Hello?” Anakin tries to sound as casual as possible. As casual as one can be when answering a phone call from your ex-wife.

“Ani! It’s good to hear your voice, how are you doing?” Padme asks with an irritatingly kind inflection.

“I’m doing good. Great, even.” Anakin runs a hand through his hair, _alright let’s get this over with,_ “Is everything alright?”

“No, no everything’s fine. Wonderful, actually.” Padme laughs. Anakin wonders if it’s possible to send an electric shock through the phone. “I have news. I’m getting remarried.”

For a moment, Anakin can only hear a dull roaring in his ears. Padme was getting remarried. It was shocking, it hurt, but not as badly as it would have hurt hearing it a few months ago. 

“Anakin?” At Padme’s question, he realizes he hasn’t said anything for a good twenty seconds.

“That’s great, Padme. I’m happy for you. Really.” He finds himself halfway believing those words.

“Oh Anakin, thank you. I just wanted to tell you personally so that you didn’t find out on Facebook or through someone else. I’m so glad that you’re okay with this.” Padme’s voice is again, irritatingly kind. Anakin realizes that he is okay with Padme’s news and he gives himself a mental pat on the back.

“Congratulations, Padme. You deserve to be happy.” Anakin gives himself _another_ pat on the back for sounding so mature. He’s in fact so busy congratulating himself that he almost misses what Padme says next.

“Satine makes me so happy, Anakin. It feels so good to be true to myself after so many years of denial.” Padme rambles on, oblivious to the fact that Anakin has stopped breathing.

“Satine. You don’t mean Satine Kryze?”

“Yes, from our old apartment building. I thought you knew that we were together.”

“No, no I didn’t know. That’s...I’m sorry. It’s just a weird coincidence.”

“Oh! You’re friends with Obi-wan. I just remembered.” Padme laughs, “Oh well this city is rather small. I think Satine may have called him to tell him the news an hour or two ago.”

 _An hour or two ago_ , Anakin thinks frantically and scrolls through his phone for a text from Obi-wan or a missed call. There’s nothing. His heart drops out of his chest.

“Padme, I have to go. Now. Congrats again!” Anakin hangs up the phone unceremoniously and hits Obi-wan’s number in his phone. It goes straight to voicemail. He tries again, with the same result. _Fuck_. He grabs his keys and decides this is a more than appropriate time to drive his car instead of taking the subway. 

Anakin breaks several traffic laws on the way over, and almost takes out several angry pedestrians. He can’t bring himself to care. He has a terrible feeling that Obi-wan didn’t take the news well, especially since he hadn’t called Anakin to check on him. Miraculously, a car is pulling out of a spot right in front of Obi-wan’s building and Anakin swoops in to claim it.

He takes the stairs two at a time before he finds himself in front of Obi-wan’s door. Anakin pounds on it unapologetically.

“Obi-wan. Open up, I know you’re in there. I need to make sure you’re okay. Open the door, you know I won’t leave until—“

Suddenly, Anakin’s fist is only hitting air and the door swings open. Obi-wan is standing on the other side. Anakin had never seen him in such a state of disarray, his nose and cheeks are stained red and his eyes filled with tears. His clothes are wrinkled, and his hair is pointing in all different directions.

“So you heard.” Obi-wan mumbles. Anakin doesn’t think, he just nods and steps into the apartment, closing the door behind him. The taller man gathers the professor into his arms and holds him. He feels Obi-wan start shaking against him and runs a hand over his back soothingly.

“Oh, _Obi-wan_. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.” Anakin rests his cheek against Obi-wan’s hair and just breathes in the smell of his shampoo. They stand there for a while, Obi-wan crying and Anakin whispering soothing things in his ear before Obi-wan backs up rubs at his face.

“Thank you. I needed that.” The older man then notices that he’s covered Anakin’s shirt in snot and tears. “Come on, I'll give you a new shirt to wear.”

Anakin follows Obi-wan into the bedroom and sits down on his bed while the other man rummages through a drawer.

“All this time, I’ve been saying we broke up because we wanted different things. She didn’t want to get married,” Obi-wan finds a shirt and brings it over to Anakin, sitting down next to him. “But the truth is she just didn’t want to marry _me_ . She didn’t love _me_.” He looks at his hands, and then wipes a stray tear away.

“If you could have her back, right now. Would you take her back?” Anakin turns towards the other man and holds one of his hands. Obi-wan thinks for a moment.

“No. But why didn’t she want to marry me? Why didn’t she love me? What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothings wrong with you.” Anakin shrugs.

“I’m difficult.” Obi-wan sniffs.

“Some people like a challenge.”

“I’m too structured, I’m completely closed off.”

“Yeah, but in a good way.”

“No, no I drove her away.” Anakin just shakes his head and holds Obi-wan when he begins to cry again. They stay like that for a little while longer before Obi-wan pulls back.

“I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to salvage this shirt.” He says with a watery laugh. Anakin shrugs and pulls it off, tossing it onto a chair. This earns a scoff from the older man.

“Wasn’t my favorite anyway.” The taller man grins down and pulls Obi-wan into a hug, placing a small comforting kiss on the corner of his mouth. “I’ll go make you some tea.” Anakin starts to rise, but Obi-wan grabs his hand.

“Can we just stay like this a little longer?” The small man asks quietly, not looking at Anakin.

“Sure.” Anakin pulls Obi-wan against his bare chest, running a soothing hand through his hair. 

Obi-wan pulls back and gives Anakin a searching look. Anakin feels his breath catch in his chest. And then Obi-wan is kissing him. It’s more intense than the previous two kisses they’ve shared, there’s heat and need behind it. Anakin is surprised, but he feels the scratch of Obi-wan’s beard and heat pools low in his belly and he deepens the kiss. It becomes filthy, all lips and tongue and Anakin pulls the smaller man to straddle his lap.

The blonde pulls off Obi-wan’s sweater and sucks bruises into his neck, earning a low moan from the man on top of him. Anakin lies back, pulling Obi-wan with him. He feels hands at his belt buckle and Obi-wan asks, “Yes?”

“ _Fuck yes_.” Anakin moans and starts to work on Obi-wan’s pants as well. It becomes a tangle of limbs and discarded clothes and laughter as they race to rid themselves of their garments as fast as possible. It ends with the men lying next to each other, fully naked. Anakin tries not to look at Obi-wan’s body, some small amount of embarrassment sitting in the back of his mind at both of them being so exposed in front of each other.

Instead, he lets his hands explore the other man’s body, while he continues to kiss Obi-wan passionately. The feeling of the wet heat of his friend’s mouth against his own, and the sliding of their tongues against each other was intoxicating enough to make Anakin’s head spin. 

His cock is so achingly hard and dripping with precum and he feels Obi-wan’s hips grind forward against his own and the silky feel of Obi-wan’s erection against his and _oh_. Anakin sucks Obi-wan’s bottom lip into his mouth as he grinds against the other man shamelessly. The taller man reaches a hand in between them and wraps it around Obi-wan’s erection.

“Ah, Anakin, fuck,” Obi-wan’s hips stutter into the other man’s enclosed fist. Anakin begins to think about how _hot_ it was to hear the other man curse, but then Obi-wan’s hand is wrapping around Anakin’s erection and all thought escapes him. He’s only slightly embarrassed by the _whimper_ that escapes his mouth when Obi-wan begins to jerk him off.

Neither of them can concentrate on kissing anymore and instead they end up with their sweaty foreheads pressed together, panting into each other's mouths. They don’t make eye contact, instead Anakin has lost the ability to open his eyes, too lost in the friction of Obi-wan’s hand around his cock. The smaller man’s movements begin to get faster and more desperate, his hips twitching against Anakin’s hand and then Obi-wan is coming with a cry.

The feeling of Obi-wan’s hot come covering both of them is enough to send Anakin over the edge as well, moaning Obi-wan’s name along with a few choice curse words.

Afterwards, Anakin drops his head down to rest on the smaller man’s shoulder, hearing the quick thumping of both of their hearts mingled in with their breathing.

Eventually, Obi-wan rolls out of bed and comes back with a washcloth for Anakin. They don’t say anything. Anakin cleans himself up and discards the cloth into the hamper. Dread starts to creep into his mind. How could he have done that? Obi-wan was his best friend and Anakin _knew_ he hadn’t slept with anyone since Satine because he wanted it to _mean something_ . And that, did it mean anything? Probably not, Anakin has just taken advantage of Obi-wan when he was sad and lonely and he was the _worst person alive_. He had to get out of this apartment. Slowly, he rises to his feet, searching for his discarded pants and boxers.

“Where are you going?” Obi-wan asks from the bed. Anakin flushes when he sees how gorgeous Obi-wan looked, with his lips swollen from kisses, and the red flush still on his chest.

“I...just remembered…” Anakin begins, not knowing where this sentence would end, “I left the oven on! I was trying to cook when Padme called and I was so worried I just left. And I left the oven on.” It’s a lame excuse, and Anakin knows Obi-wan doesn’t buy it for a second. But what else was Anakin supposed to say? I just realized that I took complete advantage of you and I also may be in love with you? The younger man continues to dress, feeling like the world's biggest sleemo. 

“Okay.” Obi-wan replies coolly, putting on his reading glasses and opening a book. Anakin is hit by a pang of guilt.

“But, we should get coffee tomorrow. And talk. After I make sure my apartment hasn’t burned down.” The tall man backtracks, walking back over to the bed.

“Sure. Goodnight Anakin.” Obi-wan’s gaze is firmly focused on his book. Anakin leans down and places a kiss on the crown of his head.

“Goodnight, Obi-wan.”

———

As soon as the door closes behind Anakin, Obi-wan throws the book he was reading across the room. He’s torn between crying, screaming, and chasing Anakin down to demand just _what_ was going through his head. He knew Anakin was more casual about sex than Obi-wan, but he never thought that the younger man would _use_ him like that. 

Obi-wan wasn’t sure what he expected was going to happen after they finished, but Anakin running off wasn’t it. He pulls himself out of bed and goes to turn on the shower. While waiting for the water to heat up, he takes a look at himself in the mirror. His eyes are still rimmed red from crying, and there’s the beginnings of a hickey at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. The professor runs a hand over his face. He looks like a mess, this isn’t him.

Obi-wan Kenobi does not cry over exes, and he doesn’t wallow in self pity. Sleeping with Anakin had been a mistake, he would not _allow_ himself to feel cheap and used. He was worth much more than that, even if Anakin couldn’t see it.

——-

Ahsoka is awoken by the loud buzzing of a phone, blearily she reaches over to her nightstand to find that it is not in fact her phone that was ringing. She nudges Barriss.

“Your phone is ringing.” Barriss’ hand appears from beneath the covers and fumbles for her phone, disappearing beneath the surface again.

“Hello?” Comes Barriss’ muffled voice. Ahsoka thinks she hears the posh intonations of Obi-wan’s accent through the speaker, but she couldn’t be sure. “Are you alright?” Barris sounds concerned.

“No one I know would call at this hour.” Ahsoka mutters.

“What did you do?” Her fiancée kicks Ahsoka under the blankets while still talking on the phone. Ahsoka’s own phone starts ringing, she sees it’s Anakin on the caller ID.

“No one I know would call at this hour.” She says in greeting.

“Ahsoka, I thought the depth of our friendship implied a call at any hour policy.” Anakin sounds tired.

“What did you do?” Barriss questions her caller.

“What’s wrong?” Ahsoka asks her friend.

“I went over to Obi-wan’s last night, we found out that Padme and _Satine_ are getting married. And well, one thing led to another...and we hooked up.” Ahsoka can’t say that she’s _shocked_ at the confession, she knew it was only a matter of time. Barriss suddenly sits upright in bed, eyes wide. They turn to each other.

“They did it!” They whisper in unison, muffling laughs.

“That’s great, Obi.”

“It’s about time.” Ahsoka chirps.

“How was it?” The couple find themselves asking in sync again, shooting each other looks.

“It was amazing, but then I realized I had just completely taken advantage of him. So I made a lame excuse and ran off.” Anakin groans.

“That’s awful.”

“Jeez, I’m so sorry, Obi-wan.”

“I know. I feel terrible.” Anakin mutters.

“You should feel terrible.” Ahsoka wants to smack that idiot into next week, how could he take advantage of Obi-wan like that?

“It would have been great if it worked out…” Barriss sighs.

“This is why you don’t go to bed with someone when you find out your ex is getting married.” Ahsoka lectures.

“It’s always a mistake.” Barriss says soothingly.

“Is Barriss talking to someone?” Anakin asks.

“What?” Ahsoka stammers.

“Who?” Barriss looks at her in alarm.

“Just a cellphone video.” Ahsoka explains.

“The TV.” Barriss lies.

“Do you want to come over for breakfast?” The women ask in unison and then stare at each other in horror.

“No, Obi-wan and I are going to meet up and talk about what happened.” Anakin mumbles.

“Good. Call me later?” Ahsoka hangs up.

“Let me know how it goes. Love you.” Barriss hangs up as well. They turn to look at each other, shaking their heads sadly. “Ahsoka, have I told you lately how much I love you?”

“I love you too.” Ahsoka smiles and pulls her fiancée in for a kiss. They don’t leave the bed for the rest of the day.

——

Obi-wan sits across from Anakin at Dex’s, pretending to be very interested in the menu even though Dex saw them and started on their usual orders as soon as they walked in. Anakin doesn’t seem to mind the silence, the blonde man completely engrossed in a game on his phone. Neither one of them has said anything besides the pleasantries of ‘how did you sleep?’ and ‘how was the ride over here?’.

The waiter brings over water and juice for Anakin and water and tea for Obi-wan. He takes a large drink of his water and decides, let’s get this over with.

“It was a mistake.” He doesn’t look up from stirring milk in his tea.

“I’m so relieved that you think so, too.” Anakin replies quickly. Obi-wan sips his tea. Silence settles back in. “Not that last night wasn’t a physically pleasurable experience…” Obi-wan looks up and Anakin’s eyes are focused in his lap, blushing with his long eyelashes resting against his cheeks.

“It was.” Obi-wan says simply.

“Yeah, it was.” Anakin nods, finally meeting Obi-wan’s gaze. The younger man takes a drink from his juice.

“We never should have done it.” The shorter man stiffly states.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Anakin fidgets with the straw in his water. There’s an awkward pause.

“Well, I am so relieved.” Obi-wan doesn’t believe himself for even a second.

“Me too.” Anakin nods. They exchange tense smiles. The waiter brings over their food; chocolate chip pancakes for Anakin and poached eggs for Obi-wan. They eat in silence. 

They continue to eat, the only sounds are their forks against their plates and the chatter of the diner around them. Obi-wan has never felt so awkward in Anakin’s presence before.

“It’s so nice when you can just sit with someone and enjoy a meal and not worry about talking.” Anakin declares. Obi-wan nods. They continue their meal in silence. Obi-wan feels nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry. feel free to share your anger/heartbreak in the comments.
> 
> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	9. November

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions run high at Ahsoka and Barriss’ wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovelies,
> 
> wish I could give you some fluff to combat all the shit going down in the world right now, but sadly you’ll have to wait another week for that. 
> 
> at least things are working out for Ahsoka, she deserves it.
> 
> enjoy!
> 
> —coco

Obi-wan is sitting in the dressing room of a wedding boutique with Quinlan, patiently waiting for Barriss to finish changing into her wedding dress. It’s the final fitting before the wedding, and as Barriss’ best friends and groomsmen it was their duty to be there.

“Is Anakin bringing Rex to the wedding?” Obi-wan asks, flipping through a magazine. Quinlan rolls his eyes.

“They broke up.” Barriss replies from behind the curtain.

“Which you would know if you two would get over it and start talking again.” Quinlan swats him.

“Is he seeing anyone?” Obi-wan ignores Quinlan, and tries to sound casual about it, because after all he couldn’t care less about who Anakin may or may not be seeing.

“He was seeing some woman named Miraj. I think she might have been a part of the mob.” Barriss replies distractedly.

“What did she look like?” The auburn haired man picks at a cuticle.

“Thin. Pretty. Your basic nightmare.” Barriss comes out from behind the curtain wearing a simple, elegant white gown. “Well, gentlemen? How do I look?” All of Obi-wan’s anxieties regarding Anakin disappeared when he saw his friend in her dress. This day was about her after all. 

“Oh Barriss, you look absolutely stunning.” The older man smiles when he watches the woman do a twirl. Quinlan lets out a low whistle. Barriss beams back at them. Obi-wan wipes a stray tear from his eye.

\-----

The sun warms Anakin’s tuxedo clad back pleasantly, a contrast to the November wind stinging his cheeks red. Ahsoka and Barriss’ friends and family sit in a few neat rows in front of him, different patterns of shawls wrapped around their shoulders. Barriss’ older sister Luminara is playing the cello just to the left of the altar. Overall, it’s a very well put together ceremony, which is nothing less than he should expect from Barriss. Ahsoka commented many times that she would be fine getting married in jeans and t-shirts in the courthouse with the celebration being beers and pizza afterwards.

Ahsoka appears at the end of the aisle and Anakin is not ashamed to admit that a lump forms in his throat as he watches her walk down the aisle with her foster father, Plo. Ahsoka wears a sleek long sleeve jumpsuit with just a small amount of midriff peeking out. They bump shoulders when she reaches the altar to face her guests, and she offers him a glowing smile in return.

Anakin’s breath catches in his throat when Obi-wan appears at the end of the aisle in front of Barriss. Anakin hasn’t seen the older man since that awkward morning, and he feels like a drowning man finally able to breathe again, he can’t stop drinking in the sight of Obi-wan walking towards him. The afternoon sunlight makes his hair shine a brilliant red, and the tuxedo he’s wearing makes him look positively regal, like he was  _ meant _ to be going to fancy events all the time. Anakin’s mouth is suddenly dry and his heart is doing somersaults in his chest.

When Obi-wan stands across from him, it takes all of Anakin’s power not to drop to his knees and declare his undying love for the man. Instead, he gives the shorter man a shy smile. Obi-wan’s smile in return is tight, and his blue eyes are cold. He doesn’t meet Anakin’s gaze for the rest of the ceremony. Well, okay then. 

\----

The reception takes place in a large hall, Obi-wan stands off to the side chatting with Ahsoka’s father Plo, nursing a glass of whiskey. Upon learning that Obi-wan taught classics at Colombia, the older gentleman began to rattle his ear off about his own research. The auburn haired man thoroughly enjoyed having a like minded individual to take his mind off of Anakin.

Speaking of the devil, the tall, golden haired man seemed to be staring at Obi-wan, putting himself in conversations that slowly led him closer to where he was standing. As soon as Plo walked away, Anakin appeared at his side.

“Hi.” Anakin amicably brushes their shoulders together. Obi-wan raises an eyebrow and resolutely stares forward.

“Hello.” The shorter man sips his whiskey.

“Nice ceremony.” Anakin muses.

“Beautiful.” Obi-wan hopes that Anakin will take the hint and leave him alone. He doesn’t.

“It’s just about the holiday season, you know. The most wonderful time of the year.” 

“It’s a wonder that suicides peak around the holidays, then.” Obi-wan mutters. He’s saved by a waiter offering him an appetizer, he’s unaware of what it is but he enthusiastically accepts it. Obi-wan can feel Anakin’s frustration mounting.

“How’ve you been?” Anakin presses onward.

“Fine.” The professor replies tersely. Anakin pauses. Obi-wan thinks he might have given up, but he’s sadly mistaken.

“How’s Hera?” And no, that’s quite enough of that, Obi-wan thinks bitterly.

“Anakin.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” The older man drains the rest of his glass.

“Okay.” Obi-wan lets out a sigh of relief. “Is it because of what happened?”

“I  _ don’t  _ want to talk about it.” Obi-wan starts to walk towards the bar to get a refill. Anakin follows him doggedly.

“Why can’t we get past this? I mean, are we going to carry this thing around forever?” Anakin catches his elbow. Obi-wan whirls around to stare at him.

“Forever?  _ It just happened _ !” The shorter man snaps, slamming his empty glass down on the bar.

“It happened three weeks ago.” Anakin exclaims. Obi-wan looks at him disbelievingly. The professor notices that people are starting to stare at them and walks off towards the hallway. Unsurprisingly, the taller man walks after him.

“You may be able to just move on with your life, Anakin, but I  _ can’t _ . I don’t  _ do _ casual sex, and you know that. It’s not like I was expecting you to completely change who you are, but I should have seen that you’re not capable of treating me like anything more than one of your conquests.” The small man is  _ vibrating  _ with rage, clenching and unclenching his fists.

“You weren’t--” Anakin stops, and then his eyes are narrowing, arms crossing over his chest. “Is that how you really see me? You think I’m incapable of having  _ feelings _ ?”

“That’s not what I meant, but you did leave awfully fast for someone that’s capable of feelings.” Obi-wan points out. Anakin laughs harshly and gets in the smaller man’s space.

“You know what Obi-wan? Of all people  _ you  _ shouldn’t be lecturing me about feelings. You’re the most emotionally constipated person I’ve ever met. You don’t  _ feel anything _ .” He hisses.

“ _ Fuck you, Anakin _ .” Obi-wan slaps the taller man across the face for good measure and storms back into the reception hall, uncaring if Anakin follows him or not.

Barriss and Ahsoka are standing on a small platform making a toast as soon as Obi-wan enters the room.

“Lastly, we just want to thank Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Without their friendship, we wouldn’t have met.” Obi-wan stops in his tracks as everyone turns to stare at the two men, applauding. His face heats, his eyes itch, his chest feels tight. He pushes it all down and smiles at the happy couple. Apathy was familiar to him and welcomed him back like an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


	10. December

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The holiday season comes around again.

If Obi-wan didn’t particularly like the holidays before, he _despised_ them now. He told himself that it was because of all of the happiness around him and the flocks of people crowding the New York sidewalks. The real reason, which he only thought about lying awake at night, was because the holidays reminded him of Anakin.

Every decorated storefront reminds him of the younger man’s smile. He could hear Anakin’s laughter when he watches the ice skaters, remembering how the taller man had gleefully guided Obi-wan onto the ice last year. 

Currently, Obi-wan sits at the bar of Dex’s Diner. It’s later at night, there’s not many other patrons around. The auburn haired man sees a young couple drinking hot chocolate and his stomach churns painfully. He looks away, down at his tea, ignoring the fact that Anakin’s own hot chocolate should be on the counter beside him.

Anakin had been texting him every day, seeing how he was, asking for his forgiveness, and various ramblings about the holidays. Obi-wan had yet to respond, hoping that the man thought he had blocked his number. The younger man had called him a few times as well, leaving voicemails with the same sentiment. He wonders when Anakin would give up.

Dex comes lumbering over to him, drying a cup and offering Obi-wan a pitying look.

“The kid is beside himself, Kenobi. He’s here all the time askin’ bout ya and staring at the door hoping you’ll walk in.” Dex chuckles and shakes his head.

“He should just give up.” Obi-wan mutters darkly.

“I dunno what happened with you two, but I can make sure he won’t be a problem anymore if that’s what you want.” The larger man leans in conspiratorially. The auburn haired man lets out a snort.

“I appreciate the offer, Dex, truly.” He smiles up at the chef. Dex claps his shoulder and walks back into the kitchen. Obi-wan’s phone starts vibrating. _Anakin Skywalker_ appears on the screen, along with a ridiculous picture of the golden haired man with his face pressed up against a window. Anakin had stolen Obi-wan’s phone and decided it was a _marvelous_ idea to make it look like he was trapped inside the phone whenever he called. Obi-wan stares down at the device, waiting for the call to time out before his traitorous hand is picking up the phone and answering the call.

“Hello, Anakin.” He answers with a sigh.

“Hey! Hi.” There’s a crash on Anakin’s end of the line along with muffled curses. “I didn’t think you were going to…hi…what are you doing?”

“Just having a cup of tea with a friend.” Obi-wan responds tersely.

“Does that mean you’re at Dex’s?” Anakin sounds almost hopeful.

“What do you want, Anakin?” Obi-wan rests his face in his hand and he is so, _so_ tired.

“Nothing, I just called to say…” He trails off. “What are you doing for New Years? Are you going to Kit’s party?” Obi-wan does not reply. The aforementioned party is being thrown by Ahsoka and Anakin’s friend Kit, who had become Obi-wan’s friend as well. Obi-wan has no intentions on attending the party. “Do you have a date? Cause I don’t have a date and if you don’t have a date we always said if neither of us have a date on New Years…”

This makes Obi-wan’s blood turn to ice, was Anakin really just asking him to go to this party out of _convenience_? After everything that happened?

“Anakin. I _can’t do this anymore_ .” He’s ashamed of the obvious crack in his voice, but pushes onward. “I am not your _consolation prize_. Goodbye, Anakin.” He presses the end call button and slams the offending electronic back down on the counter, feeling tears prickling in his eyes and his throat closing up.

Obi-wan’s next actions are perfunctory and he feels as if he’s watching himself perform them. He leaves money on the counter for Dex, hops down from the bar and makes his way home.

It’s only until he’s behind the door of his apartment that he lets himself break down. Finally shedding the tears that had been building for weeks, and allowing himself to _feel_. 

——

By the time New Years Eve rolls around, Obi-wan is still not out of his funk. His beard and hair are both in need of a trimming, and he can’t say with certainty when the last time he left his apartment was. The professor looks and behaves in a rather uncivilized manner for his standards. He drinks his whiskey from the bottle, _just like Anakin_ , his inner voice taunts. 

The TV is playing the New Year’s Eve programming, which he has never really watched before, but recently he did a lot of things he hadn’t done before. Like eating in bed. Or ignoring phone calls from well meaning friends.

It’s astounding to Obi-wan how much could change within a few weeks, or within the past year for that matter. On this day last year, he was dancing and laughing with Anakin. His traitorous mind brings up the memory of the taller man drunkenly joking about going to bed together, and how the idea of it made Obi-wan so uncomfortably _warm_ , before he realized Anakin couldn’t possibly have been serious. And then Anakin had leaned down and kissed him at midnight. His lips had been soft and unexpectedly _sweet_ and Obi-wan’s own lips tingled for _hours_ afterwards.

Realizing this train of thought was doing nothing to help his mood, Obi-wan elects to take a walk. Perhaps the fresh air would help keep his thoughts in a more productive direction.

——-

Anakin is _not_ enjoying himself. He had attended the party at Ahsoka’s insistence, and in secret hopes that Obi-wan would show up. But Obi-wan hadn’t shown up, and what’s worse is that no one had heard from him in at least a week.

Kit lived in a luxurious apartment with his own private rooftop terrace. It was well decorated with LED string lights, and fancy space heaters to keep out the winter chill. All of the furniture had been moved downstairs to leave room for dancing and socializing. Kit had a rather large social circle, so even with no furniture there wasn’t a lot of space to walk without bumping into someone.

Anakin hadn’t wanted to come to the party alone, so he invited Miraj, the woman he had slept with a few times as a way to distract himself. He couldn’t even say he even enjoyed her company, he had continued to sleep with her because...well. She was rather _domineering_ in the bedroom and Anakin just needed to _let go_ of control every so often in order to make himself stop obsessing over Obi-wan.

Anakin is dancing with Miraj now, trying to calm the roiling in his gut with the onslaught of memories of last New Years Eve that wouldn’t quite leave him at peace.

Ahsoka and Barriss dance close to them and Anakin leans in and mutters darkly to his friend, “I don’t know why I let you talk me into this.”

Ahsoka smiles at him, faking sweetness, as Miraj leans in and starts biting at his earlobe. Anakin was in his own personal hell.

——-

Obi-wan walks down the sidewalk, staring into various window displays, feeling out of sync with his own body. A couple walks past, laughing. He couldn’t help but remember how often Anakin made him laugh, how easy it was with him. He thinks of the day at the Met when Anakin decided they were going to talk in that strange backwards way and the following conversation when the blushing younger man had told him he looked good in blue.

 _What is wrong with me?_ Obi-wan wishes his brain would _stop_ bombarding him with these memories. To his surprise, he sees an open ice cream shop ahead. He decides this is the perfect distraction, despite it being wickedly cold outside and goes in.

——-

Anakin lets out a loud, fake laugh at something Miraj says. He takes a step backwards, out of the grasp of her long fingernails and murmurs, “I’m going home now.” Ahsoka doesn’t even make eye contact with him from her place next to him, still smiling at whoever she was having a conversation with behind Anakin’s back.

“Yeah? Good luck getting an Uber or a Lyft at this time of night.” She mutters out of the corner of her mouth, tossing her braids over her shoulder.

 _Fuck. She’s right._ Anakin sadly steps back into Miraj’s clutches and lets out another laugh at whatever she says.

———

Obi-wan wanders aimlessly, enjoying his cup of butter pecan ice cream. He barely even felt the cold anymore. This was the best decision he had made in months. He crosses the street towards Central Park and is debating how safe it is for him to be wandering around the park at night, and if he really cares about his personal safety anymore when something catches his eye. He almost drops his ice cream in shock.

He has somehow walked to Columbus Circle, the very place he had dropped Anakin off in New York all those years ago. The horses on the golden statue stare down at him, mockingly. He throws his ice cream out.

Obi-wan remembers the car ride, how he was attracted to Anakin even then, how he had pushed that all down once he realized they wouldn’t ever be a part of each other's lives. He snorts, _look how well that turned out. That man is the biggest part of your life._

Which.

Is a shocking revelation, to say the least. 

The _more_ startling revelation comes next.

_I’m in love with him. Completely and hopelessly in love with Anakin Skywalker._

But there’s no way the younger man could feel the same way, he had treated Obi-wan like a one night stand. At least that’s how Obi-wan perceived it. But Anakin had been _so upset_ over Obi-wan accusing him of not being able to have feelings and then he hadn’t left Obi-wan alone for weeks. That’s not how you would treat a one night stand, right?

An image of Anakin, lying in bed with him, flushed and sated comes to his mind. The shy smile the golden haired man had given him, his eyes full of familiar adoration. And it’s that image that has all of the pieces clicking into place.

Oh.

_Oh._

Anakin loved him too.

What was he going to do?

Obi-wan did the only thing he _could_ in that moment. He ran.

——-

Anakin was fuming, he had eventually told Miraj to _shove it_ , and now he was alone at this stupid party surrounded by stupid couples and it was almost midnight.

He finds Ahsoka and Barriss chatting with Quinlan and Ventress. _Ugh, when had they gotten here?_

“I’m going.” He announces to the group.

“It’s almost midnight.” Ahsoka protests.

“I can’t. I can’t be alone around all of these kissing couples at midnight.” Anakin groans.

“Big deal. I’ll kiss you.” Quinlan offers. Asajj makes a pleased noise. Anakin resists the urge to gag.

“Thanks, Quin. But I’m going.” Before anyone else can protest, or _god forbid, kiss him_ , Anakin starts walking through the throngs of people towards the steps.

“Text us when you get home!” Barriss calls out to him. Anakin turns and waves goodbye to the group. When he turns back around he stops dead in his tracks.

There, at the top of the steps, is Obi-wan Kenobi. To be honest, he looks terrible. His hair and beard are unkempt, and he’s dressed in loungewear. He’s breathing heavy, like he had just _ran here_. There are bags under his eyes, which are frantically scanning the crowd. They finally land on Anakin, and he feels like his legs might just give out from underneath him.

Obi-wan is walking straight towards him and Anakin is frozen in place. And then it feels like a fire is lit inside him, when he realizes _this is his chance._

“Anakin—“ The auburn haired man starts.

“Wait. Obi-wan. Before you say anything I have to tell you something.” The younger man interrupts. Obi-wan’s eyebrows rise in shock. They stare at each other for a moment.

“Go on.” Obi-wan relents.

“I know you might not feel the same way and this could ruin our friendship forever, but I’m in love with you. Completely head over heels for you, I have been for a long time.” Anakin begins, and when Obi-wan doesn’t say anything for a beat, he does what he does best, He rambles on. “I love that you get cold when it’s 62 degrees out. I love that you are so put together, but sometimes your fringe is the _only_ thing that’s out of place and my fingers just _itch_ to put it back into place. I love that my prosthetic arm never seemed to phase you. I love that you put _milk_ in your goddamn _tea_ . I love that after spending the day with you I can still smell you on my clothes. I love how you’re the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night and the first person I want to see when I wake up. I’ve known it for over a year, and I can’t just be your friend anymore, Obi-wan. I want, no, _need_ to be more. And I’m so _goddamn_ sorry I took advantage of you that one night, I hate myself for it. I fully understand if you never want to talk to me again because of it.” Now, Anakin is panting after pouring his heart out so quickly. He’s idly aware of someone announcing that there’s a minute till midnight. Anakin’s heart is pounding in his ears as he stares at the older man’s curiously blank expression.

“Are you done? Is it my turn to talk?” Obi-wan asks. Anakin can only nod in response. Obi-wan takes a step closer to him. “First of all, I _can’t believe_ you thought that you took advantage of me, you beautiful dense man. I wanted you. I enthusiastically consented to that encounter, the only thing I was upset about was that you _left so quickly.”_

Anakin’s eyes widen. He was a fool. A complete and total _idiot_. Obi-wan takes another step, and now he’s in the taller man’s personal space. Anakin still can’t get a read on his expression.

“I love you too, dear one.” Obi-wan’s face breaks into an _earth_ _shattering_ grin, and Anakin’s heart leaps into his throat. The shorter man brings up a hand to cradle Anakin’s cheek. “I _ran_ all the way here from _Columbus Circle_ , because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start _as soon as possible_. It’s you that I want, Anakin. It’s always been you.”

And then, Obi-wan is closing the distance between them, leaning up and capturing Anakin’s lips in a kiss. Anakin is still getting over the shock of _Obi-wan wanting to spend the rest of his life with him,_ before it all catches up to him and he’s enthusiastically returning the kiss, almost knocking the shorter man off balance when his arms come up to fling around his body. _Finally_.

Distantly, he hears applause and catcalls and then the cheers welcoming in the New Year. It’s all white noise to him, because Obi-wan’s tongue is in his mouth, their bodies are pressed flush together, and Obi-wan _loves him_. 

For the first time in a long time, Anakin is excited to see what this year had in store for him, because he knew Obi-wan would be right by his side the whole way.

\----

They somehow make it back to Obi-wan’s apartment. Obi-wan remembers splitting an uber with Quinlan and Asajj, but beyond that his head is buzzing with only thoughts of _Anakin, Anakin, Anakin._

Anakin, who pins him to the door of his apartment as soon as it closes behind them.

Anakin, whose hands and mouth are everywhere at once and it’s still _not enough._

Anakin, who pants “Need you, love you.” against his mouth.

“Bed.” Obi-wan grits out.

They laugh and trip and kiss their way to the bedroom, stumbling out of shoes and pants and knocking heads at least once.

But then Anakin is sprawled out on the bed beneath Obi-wan, all long golden limbs. The older man settles between Anakin’s legs and kisses every single part of him that he can reach, spending extra time on the man’s metal hand.

It’s not like the first time they did this, there’s no rush or undercurrent of embarrassment. Their eyes devour each other’s bodies, and they take their time memorizing every inch of the other, memorizing every sensation of their bodies coming together.

Obi-wan is not surprised to learn that even in bed, Anakin never shuts up. The smaller man takes him apart with his tongue until Anakin is nothing but a writhing, incoherent mess, begging for his partner to _fuck him already_. Obi-wan is more than happy to oblige.

The two men share a sigh of relief when Obi-wan finally, _finally_ pushes into the taller man. When Obi-wan starts moving his hips, he loses track of anything beyond the tight heat around his cock, and the sounds Anakin makes as he falls apart.

Later, after they’re fully sated and evidence of their coupling has been cleaned up, the two of them lie there, trading kisses and affirmations of love. Anakin’s blue eyes gaze at him, soft and _tender_ , and it’s in that moment that Obi-wan knows, deep in his bones, that he would never let him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally!! now go read the epilogue.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> psst- this is a double update, make sure you go and read the chapter before this!

They get married on a warm spring day, not unlike the day they had met all those years ago. Neither of them propose, they don’t have to. It was never a question of _if_ and only a question of when.

When it’s finally official, there’s cheers and applause and tears all around, but no one in attendance cries harder than Dex.

Anakin watches Obi-wan sleep later that night, mouth hanging open, auburn hair sticking in every direction, hickies starting to bloom in between the man’s freckles and thinks, _that’s my husband_.

——

Two years later, after mountains of paperwork, home visits, long nights and countless arguments, they get a call about a pair of _twins_ whose mother died in childbirth and have no other family.

They’ve been waiting for this moment, stocking up on supplies for a newborn. Obi-wan had been reading book after book on infants, and had dragged Anakin along to in person classes. However, they only had one set of everything.

On the way to the hospital, they call Ahsoka and Barriss to announce the news, and the women rush to the nearest store to pick up an extra car seat and carrier and meet them at the hospital.

When they hold Luke and Leia in their arms, neither of them say anything for a long time. Both of them too entranced in the delicate bundles of pure innocence that they had the privilege of loving.

——

Two years later, Obi-wan comes home to an unusually silent house. He takes his shoes off at the door and tiptoes up the steps into their bedroom. He finds Anakin asleep, stretched out in bed, with a toddler snuggled under each arm. Luke cracks an eye open when he sees his father enter the room, and presses a finger to his lips.

“Shhh, Papa. Daddy is sleeping.” Obi-wan grins at the boy, and slides into bed next to him. He runs his fingers through Luke’s downy blonde hair before he feels his son start to relax back into sleep.

Obi-wan just watches his little family for a moment before he sees Anakin’s blue eyes start to blink open before focusing on him. A sleepy grin spreads over his face and Obi-wan’s heart _soars_ with love and affection.

Obi-wan leans over and presses a kiss to his husband’s lips before settling his head against his shoulder, their son tucked in between them. Anakin falls back into sleep and Obi-wan follows shortly after, completely at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my LORD guys. I can't believe I finished this, all 27k words of it. believe it or not, this was a goal my therapist and I set for myself back in march, and it feels so good to have DONE it. I am terrible at follow through, and I couldn't have finished this without all of your love and support. THANK YOU FOR READING, COMMENTING, AND ALL THE KUDOS.
> 
> I adore obikin with all my life and the fics you guys write are AMAZING. especially the angsty ones. but I feel like we need more fluff and I am more than willing to provide that. if you guys have any ideas or prompts for me, let me know either by commenting or slipping me an ask. 
> 
> again. thank you, thank you, thank you.
> 
> \--coco
> 
> hit me up on tumblr!  
> https://goingdizzy.tumblr.com/


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